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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173135">Going Once... Going Twice...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Want_to_read234/pseuds/Want_to_read234'>Want_to_read234</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Auction, Disassociated state, Failed escape, Human Trafficking, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Peter Parker Whump, Rape/Non-con Elements, Recovery, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Whipping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:54:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>48,726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Want_to_read234/pseuds/Want_to_read234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>But despite all that work, they had still not been able to find any leads. The closest they had gotten was Peter finding an image of men armed with seriously heavy-duty guns near a crime scene before one of the victims had been taken. Whoever the men were though, were smart. Despite being caught by the surveillance they were impossible to identify. They were no closer to knowing who was taking the teens or what they were doing with them. </p>
<p>Not that they were giving up, but they had been searching for over a month now and so far, their work had proved fruitless.</p>
<p>********</p>
<p>When Spider-Man gets too close to uncovering a Human Trafficking case, Peter Parker pays the price. Tony Stark and the rest of the Avengers gather round to bring him home. But will they get to him in time?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>May Parker (Spider-Man) &amp; Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds &amp; Peter Parker, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>159</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is the first time I've attempted anything other than a one-shot. I have already completed it, so plan to update hopefully daily while I finish editing it.</p>
<p>This is darker than anything I have written before so please heed the tags. Also if you think I've missed anything from the tags please let me know. I'll try to remember and post TW before each chapter if I can work out the difference between the constant notes and the chapter specific ones...</p>
<p>Anyway, hope you Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peters heart was racing as he walked alongside Ned heading towards the library. The final bell had just rung, and they were on their way to Decathlon practice. His last couple of classes had all blurred together as he couldn’t keep his thoughts away from what he was planning. His nerves had been shaking since lunch at the thought of all the ways it could go wrong.</p>
<p>But he was Spider-Man, he could do this. He had gone over the plan with Ned a couple of times already.</p>
<p>He could do this.</p>
<p>He could <em>totally</em> do this.</p>
<p>“I can’t do this,” he whimpered, grabbing Neds arm as they took their seats at the practice table.</p>
<p>“C’mon dude, you already chickened out at lunch, you have to do it now,” Ned encouraged as he grabbed his books from his bag.</p>
<p>“But what if-“</p>
<p>“Don’t! Your plan is solid, you just need to ask her. What’s the worst that could happen?”</p>
<p>Shooting Ned a panicked look, Peter saw all the worst-case scenarios flying through his head. If it didn’t go well, he might never be able to show his face at school again. Preparing to inform his best friend about his possible impending doom, he snapped his mouth shut when the door opened to reveal MJ.</p>
<p>Striding in she took her seat at the head of the table, getting straight to business. Pulling out her study cards, she eyed everyone gathered around for practice, “Listen up losers, our first competitive meet of the year is in a month,” she paused staring at Peter causing his hands to sweat. He tried to discreetly wipe them on his jeans while she continued to talk, “so I expect everyone to attend <em>all </em>practice sessions from here on out.”</p>
<p>A series of nods echoed around the room before she started practice. Peter struggled to keep his focus, but he somehow managed to get through it. Well, there wasn’t really a somehow. It was only because of his best friend Ned that he survived it. Whenever his attention drifted Ned would give him a shove to stop him from zoning out.</p>
<p>As the practice was wrapping up, Peters nerves were coming back full force. It was ridiculous. He was Spider-Man. He could face down criminals, but he was freaking out about this. The others all started to pack up their books and leave to head home. Not wanting to hang around the school any longer than necessary on a Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Peter stood hesitating by the table. Maybe it was bad idea. As he toyed with the idea of chickening out – again - Ned shoved him into MJ. Hands flying out to grip MJs shoulders, to stop her from toppling over, he shot her a bashful smile.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry MJ,” glaring at Ned over his shoulder he explained, “Ned can just be so <em>clumsy </em>sometimes…”</p>
<p>Smirking, MJ tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before shrugging, “It’s ok, could have been worse. Although it didn’t look like an accident.”</p>
<p>“What? I didn’t want to knock you over!”</p>
<p>“No, but it looked like Ned wants you to talk to me?” she raised an eyebrow in question, “Could it have something to do with why you have been so distracted all day?”</p>
<p>Blushing, Peter raised a hand to scratch at the back of his neck, “Y-yeah, well I kind of wanted to- I was going to a-ask you… ask you if you maybe… wanted to-to go- well…” he could feel the colour rising in his cheeks as he stumbled over his words. MJ just stood waiting for him to finish, one eyebrow remaining raised in question. Sucking in a deep breath, he let the words out in a rush, “doyouwannagooutwithme?”</p>
<p>MJ blinked once in confusion before smiling and giving him a gentle nod, “Sure loser. I really wasn’t sure you were going to be able to ask. You got yourself all worked up about it?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah…”</p>
<p>“You needn’t have worried.”</p>
<p>“So, that’s a yeah? You wanna go out? With me?” a hesitant smile tugging at his lips.</p>
<p>Picking up her books, she nodded, “Yeah, I’ll go out with you. There’s going to be a peaceful protest outside the public library tomorrow afternoon. You interested?”</p>
<p>Grinning like an idiot, he felt himself nodding along. “Sure, yeah, awesome. I’ll meet you there.”</p>
<p>With a final nod, MJ turned to leave, “Well, I’ll see you then,” glancing over his shoulder she smirked, “you might want to make sure Neds brain hasn’t melted. He looks ready to explode,” with a chuckle she wandered off.</p>
<p>Spinning round, he witnessed Neds jaw dropped expression. “Ned, you ok?”</p>
<p>“Dude, you actually did it! I’m so proud of you!” snapping out of it, his best friend engulfed him in a bone crushing hug.</p>
<p>“She said yes, oh my God. She said yes!” as they started walking to the exit to head home, his mind started thinking ahead to his upcoming date. What do you wear to a peaceful protest? Would they go for dinner afterwards? Should he buy her something? What was May going to think? She’d be so excited about it all. He hadn’t shown much interest in dating since Homecoming last year with Liz, and that hadn’t exactly ended well. His aunt had been dropping hints about him asking MJ for weeks now, but he always brushed it off and quickly changed the subject. As much as he loved his aunt, he was still a teenager. He didn’t want her knowing everything that went on in his head.</p>
<p>Wandering towards the subway, Ned got lost in a ramble about how they were growing up. They couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes from the school when his phone started ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket, he blinked in surprise when he saw Mr Starks name flashing across the screen. Tapping Ned on the arm to cut him off, he gestured to his phone before hitting answer.</p>
<p>“Hey Mr Stark,”</p>
<p>“Hey Underoos, you’re out of school now, right? FRIDAY said your schedule should be free just now.”</p>
<p>“Yeah Mr Stark, Ned and I were just gonna go get some homework done. How come?”</p>
<p>“We have a situation downtown that Spider-Man could be helpful with. I think its related to the missing kids you’ve been looking into recently,” the man spoke seriously. “These guys certainly have the same weapons.”</p>
<p>Peter glanced around for somewhere for him to change, nodding along with Mr Stark before realising the man couldn’t see him. “Yeah Mr Stark, I just need to get into my suit then I’ll be on my way.”</p>
<p>“See you soon kid. Stay safe, Karen will connect you to the comms.” His mentor had hung up before he had a chance to respond.</p>
<p>Spotting an alley, he sent Ned an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry Ned, but I’ve got to go.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it, I can take your backpack for you? I think May might have your head if you lose another one,” Ned grinned, following him into the alleyway and turning around to give him some privacy. “I can’t believe you’re going to fight with Mr Stark. What even is your life?”</p>
<p>Quickly slipping into his suit, Peter couldn’t help but agree.</p>
<p>Over the last year, Mr Stark has begun trusting him with so much more. They had been having weekly lab sessions and staying over at the Compound every other weekend for <em>training. </em>He got to <em>train</em> with the <em>Avengers</em>!</p>
<p>The man was even helping him with an investigation that he had started by looking into missing kids across New York. He had noticed that there had been some strange disappearances amongst teenagers in Queens, and when he started investigating, he found that the disappearances were happening across New York.</p>
<p>People going missing in broad daylight. Phones and watches always found nearby, but no traces were left that could lead to them. No DNA. No eyewitnesses. No bodies. Nothing. There weren’t any connections between the victims that he could find, and they didn’t exactly fit a profile other than being young, but he didn’t believe in coincidences.</p>
<p>He had been worried that when he brought his findings to Mr Stark the man would tell him it was above his pay grade like he had done with the vulture, but he had been pleasantly surprised. Instead, he had helped him to organise his own investigation. Using Karen and FRIDAY to dig into data servers for more information, tapping into police scanners to keep on top of the disappearances. Peters not entirely sure that it was all legal, but it was helping him to gather more data.</p>
<p>But despite all that work, they had still not been able to find any leads. The closest they had gotten was Peter finding an image of men armed with seriously heavy-duty guns near a crime scene before one of the victims had been taken. Whoever the men were though, were smart. Despite being caught by the surveillance they were impossible to identify. They were no closer to knowing who was taking the teens or what they were doing with them.</p>
<p>Not that they were giving up, but they had been searching for over a month now and so far, all of their work had proved fruitless.</p>
<p>Mr Stark was starting to see him as more than some dumb kid he had to babysit. More and more often there were moments like this, where his mentor would call him in as back up because he trusted him.</p>
<p>It was a good feeling.</p>
<p>Slipping the mask on, he handed his bag to Ned.</p>
<p>“Thanks for this Ned, I’ll call you later to come get it.”</p>
<p>“You better, and then you can tell me all about it! I’m gonna want all the details Peter. I mean <em>all </em>of them!”</p>
<p>Jumping up onto the wall, Peter climbed up to the roof, turning in the direction Karen was guiding him. As he prepared to swing off, he heard Ned whispering down below him, “Be safe Spider-Man.”</p>
<p>Flinging a wave at his best friend, Peter leapt of the building, swinging towards the action.</p>
<p>As he started his journey, Karen connected him to the teams comms. Turns out it was more than just Mr Stark on scene. The commanding voice of Steve, or Captain America, filtered through as he directed the team to stay focussed.</p>
<p>From his explanation, it turns out that there were a bunch of operatives wreaking havoc while using some alien weaponry. The same sort of weapons that Peter had managed to link to the disappearances. Hawkeye was acting as cover from a nearby building, while Iron Man and Captain America were down in the heart of the havoc. Spider-Man was being asked to cover the civilians, to try and get as many people out of the way of danger as possible.</p>
<p>Approaching the chaos, Peter was thankful for Karens programming. The minute he had neared the ruckus, she had dampened the audio input and darkened his lenses, to help prevent a sensory overload. Swinging amongst the buildings - taking care to avoid the bad guys - he quickly set to work locating the civilians and directing them out to safety.</p>
<p>He slipped right into the work.</p>
<p>Just focussing on the next civilian and checking in with the other Avengers over the comms when requested. As he moved, he made a point of keeping Iron Man in his field of vision. It was reassuring to know he had back up if it was needed. A nice change to his usual patrols. Not that the man wasn’t always on call if he ever needed him. There was just something different about being able to actually see and hear his mentor while he was working that made him feel safer.</p>
<p>Pausing for breath, he took a quick rest on top of a lamppost. Surveying the area, he scanned for any civilians he might have missed.</p>
<p>“Karen, you seeing anyone left?”</p>
<p>“There appears to be a civilian in distress a block away, they may be in trouble. Would you like me to plot a course to them?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, thanks Karen.”</p>
<p>Taking in a deep breath, he leapt off in the direction Karen was highlighting. It was an apartment building that was blocked from view by a towering office building in front of it. As Peter approached the apartment his spider-sense started to tingle at the base of his neck, steadily growing louder as he drew closer.</p>
<p>Glancing around, he couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary, so he followed Karens directions and leapt through the window to reach the distressed civilian. He couldn’t see any signs of anyone in the room he landed in, but they could have gotten scared and ran off when they heard him coming.</p>
<p>“Where do I go now Karen?” he whispered, worried if he spoke too loudly he might spook whoever was in here.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure. My scanners are no longer picking up any lifeforms in this building Peter.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>xXxXxXx</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This ridiculous fight had been going on for too long. Tony was getting too old to have to deal with idiots who decide to brandish alien technology. The annoying thing was, they didn’t even seem to have any purpose. They’re shots tended to miss them as often as they hit – despite the men having good aim - and they mainly seemed intent on just causing as much property damage as possible.</p>
<p>The men seemed to be extremely well trained, always managing to avoid capture. A couple of times he or Steve had gotten close, but they always managed to get out of their grasp. He could see a number of fatalities lying around, but the men just continued to pop up out of seemingly thin air.</p>
<p>Something about the whole situation wasn’t sitting right with him. But between the damaged buildings, scared civilians and glowing alien weapons he hadn’t really had a lot of time to think about why that was.</p>
<p>He’d had to call the kid in earlier when he realised that it was related to the case he had been working for a couple months now. He knew that Peter could take care of himself, but that hadn’t stopped him from placing the boy on civilian duty. Not that it was a light task. They needed the innocents out of there and he knew that Spider-Man was the best bet at making that happen quickly, but it made Tony feel better to know he wasn’t in the thick of the danger.</p>
<p>Tony had been subtly trying to keep the kid in his sight during the fight.</p>
<p>He panicked a little when he noticed Peter had swung behind a large tower block, but FRIDAY informed him he was just going to an apartment building to get a distressed civilian. It sounded like that would be the last one in the immediate area, so afterwards Spider-Man would be joining the rest of them in the fight.</p>
<p>Tracking one of the men running around, he aimed his repulsor and managed to send the man flying backwards before he landed heavily, slumping down against a wall. Dropping to hover above the man, he watched as he slowly grinned despite his compromising position.</p>
<p>An explosion somewhere behind him rocked the ground, causing everyone in the area to wobble, struggling to regain balance. Turning slowly, his eyes widened when he saw a plume of smoke rising from behind the large tower block.</p>
<p>Exactly where his kid had just swung off to.</p>
<p>“<em>Peter</em>” he breathed into the comms.</p>
<p>Flying off in the direction Peter had just left he gasped, “FRI, what happened?”</p>
<p>“There appears to have been an explosion in the apartment building.”</p>
<p>He froze mid-air when the rubble of what was once an apartment building came into view.</p>
<p>“Where’s Peter? Give me a location.”</p>
<p>He could hear the voices of Clint and Steve filtering in his ear as they asked what was happening, but Tony could only focus on the remains of what was once a building that Peter had supposedly been in. Eyes flitting between the pieces of rubble for any sign of the red and blue suit.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure Boss. I can’t get a reading on his tracker.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean you can’t get a reading on it? Track his suit, damnit!” he snapped.</p>
<p>“Location found Boss; he is a block away.”</p>
<p>Following the location flashing on his screen, he reached the destination in less than a minute. Scanning the alleyway, he followed the tracker to the back behind a dumpster. He froze when he saw what was sitting there.</p>
<p>The Spider-Man suit.</p>
<p>The suit was just sitting folded on the ground, with the mask laying on top of it.</p>
<p>The kid was nowhere in sight.</p>
<p>He could feel his heart freezing in his chest. The feeling of wrongness in the fight earlier suddenly making sense. It had been a trap. The men weren’t fighting to kill, they were a distraction.</p>
<p>Steve and Clint’s voices were still thundering through his comm. Demanding to know what had happened. Asking them to check in. Both Tony and Peter.</p>
<p>“Peter’s gone,” he breathed. The other voices stopped immediately.</p>
<p>“Tony,” Steve spoke warily, “What do you mean? What’s happened?”</p>
<p>“I-I don’t know.  But his suit is here, a block away from where he was last seen, and he is gone.”</p>
<p>Quickly retracting the suits helmet, he turned around to empty his stomach contents onto the ground.</p>
<p>The others were speaking in panicked tones in his ear, but he couldn’t pick out the individual words. There was only one thought circling his mind.</p>
<p>Someone had his kid.</p>
<p>And he had no clue how to find him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: vomit (not detailed), Panic Attacks (cut off before really starting but mental health of characters isn't the best)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony didn’t know how long he stood throwing up in the alleyway before he had become aware of movement behind him.</p>
<p>Steve and Clint had joined him in the alley, finding him hunched over wiping bile from his chin with the back of his hand.</p>
<p>Clint had quickly taken charge and blocked the area off like a crime scene. Leaving Peter’s suit neatly folded behind the dumpster with the mask laying untouched until they had a chance to collect any forensic evidence that might have been left behind. Not that Tony had expected them to find any, if previous experience was anything to go off of. But he could hope.</p>
<p>Steve had had the presence of mind to call in back-up as soon as he was told Peter was missing – something that he should have done himself and would have done if he hadn’t been so distraught at the fact <em>his</em> kid was missing. It hadn’t taken more than 15 minutes for Natasha and some SHIELD agents to show up. Natasha had quickly surveyed the scene before approaching Tony like a wounded animal who might try to flee.</p>
<p>They had always had a mutual respect for one another ever since he had discovered she wasn’t, in fact, Natalie Rushman from legal. They never fully trusted each other, always keeping secrets and sharing half-truths, but they both knew that was the case. It was what kept their friendship going. It was an odd relationship, but it worked for them. Both had grown up being taught to never let others get too close. To never share their true feelings. That it would make them weak. They’d laughed it off over drinks when they realised their own childhood trauma could be used to pull them closer together.</p>
<p>Tony often forgot that although they had similarities in their childhood, Natasha grew up being trained as an assassin. It was times like this when he was reminded of that fact. His chest was still racing in his chest as he rhythmically clenched and unclenched his fists trying to keep some semblance of control over his emotions. He could feel her eyes analysing him as she came to a stop in front of him, her gaze evaluating as he leant against a wall trying to keep his impending panic attack at bay.</p>
<p>“Tony, you shouldn’t be here,” she stated evenly.</p>
<p>His gaze flew to her, protests on the tip of his tongue. It was <em>his kid </em>that had been taken. How could she expect him to sit out while they searched for him? God only knew where Peter was right now. He had to help. There was nothing she could do to keep him away from this. He would literally fight his ground in order to keep searching for his kid. His thoughts must have been visible on his face as Natasha elaborated.</p>
<p>“You can’t help from<em> here</em>. SHIELD has the forensics covered, and there aren’t any tracks to follow. At least for the moment. Go back to the compound and do your thing. Go to the lab. See if you can get anything from Spider-Mans AI and set FRIDAY up with some more searches,” she paused reaching forward to rest her hand on his shoulder. “Rhodey and Pepper are going to meet you there. I already contacted them on the ride over. We’ll find him Tony. You’ve got all the Avengers on your side and SHIELD have our back as well.”</p>
<p>Nodding quickly as his eyes grew wet, he sniffed once before his suit formed around him. He turned to Natasha before leaving, “Keep me updated. I’ll be in the lab.”</p>
<p>At her nod, he took off. He was thankful that FRIDAY knew where he was wanting to go. His mind completely blanked out during the flight to the compound, as he allowed his AI to take control.</p>
<p>Before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of his lab. His gaze caught on Peter’s workstation. The boys plans and prototypes strewn haphazardly across the surface. They had been too caught up during the kids last lab session and they had overrun not noticing the time. Meaning Peter had bolted from his desk, dropping everything and leaving it where it fell in a rush to get to the car. Even if Happy floored it all the way back to Queens they both knew he was going to miss his curfew set by May. Tony had winced in sympathy at the thought of being on Mays bad side.</p>
<p>Dragging a hand over his face, he turned to sit at his desk, his back to the kids workstation. Pulling up the baby monitor footage from the run up to the explosion, he allowed himself a moment to calm his breathing. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before stretching and cracking his knuckles.</p>
<p>Shifting his focus to the screen in front of him, he asked FRIDAY to block any non-essential communication and to let Pepper and Rhodey know where to find him.</p>
<p>He had work to do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>xXxXxXx</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peter awoke to a pounding in his head.</p>
<p>Raising a hand to press against his eyes, he breathed heavily through the nausea that was rising in his throat. Lying on his side was not helping with his nausea so he slowly turned onto his back. Wincing at the coldness of whatever he was lying on.</p>
<p>His limbs felt weak and shaky. He must have really hit his head earlier when he had been doing… something. Frowning when he realised, he couldn’t remember what had happened. He had been rescuing civilians and had went into the building to get the last one out, when his spidey-sense had started screaming at him. Choosing to ignore it till after he had everyone out to safety, he had asked Karen for directions to find the last civilian and then…. Then it all goes blank. He can’t even remember if he found the person or not.</p>
<p>Squinting his eyes open he tried not to panic when he caught sight of his unfamiliar surroundings. He was lying beside a wall, so he rolled his head to the opposite side. Taking in the room.</p>
<p>He was met with blank grey cement walls. There was a metal door on the wall opposite him and a metal toilet attached to the wall on his right, but those were the only things he could spot in the room.</p>
<p>Shifting to a seated position, he was startled to find a chain around his left ankle attached to the wall behind him. His suit was gone as well. Leaving him in just his boxers. That would explain why he was so cold. The concrete floor underneath him was sapping the heat right out of him.</p>
<p>Running a trembling hand through his hair, Peter took a shaky breath.</p>
<p>The nausea which had moved to the back of his mind, suddenly reared again. Lurching forward, he was grateful that the chain had enough slack to allow him to reach the toilet, as he heaved, emptying his stomach contents into it.</p>
<p>Once he was done, he wiped his mouth before hitting the button to suction away the mess.</p>
<p>Spitting into the empty bowl again, he tried to alleviate the bitter aftertaste. Glancing around the room once more he wished there had at least been a sink for him to be able to rinse his mouth. Instead, he made do with spitting once more before he wiped his mouth with a shaky hand and crawled back over to his original spot. As far from the door as he could manage.</p>
<p>Given that he had woken up chained to a wall, it was a pretty safe bet that he had been kidnapped. The fact that he couldn’t remember anything was concerning him, but he couldn’t afford to freak out. He was Spider-Man. He would find a way out, he just needed to remain calm. He had to focus on what he did know.</p>
<ol>
<li>Whoever had him knew he was Spider-Man. He had been in the suit when he was taken, and he was no longer wearing it. So, he had to assume that they knew his identity. But if they had kept the suit then Mr Stark would be able to track it and find him. Although given the man wasn’t here yet led him to believe they might have ditched it somewhere.</li>
<li>Going from his nausea and general weakness, he had more than likely been drugged. It didn’t feel like a regular concussion, and he had grown fairly familiar with what they felt like. So yeah, most likely drugged. He had no idea how long ago he’d been dosed or how much they gave him, but given it was affecting him in the first place, it had probably been designed with enhanced individuals in mind.</li>
<li>Mr Stark would be looking from him. His mentor must have noticed he was missing by now, so Peter had no doubts that the man would be searching for him. The question was just how long it would take. Unless something had happened to the man. He hoped whoever had him, hadn’t managed to get any of the others as well.</li>
</ol>
<p>That was it.</p>
<p>Peter only knew three things.</p>
<p>He suspected another, but if he thought about it then it might be true. And that terrified him.</p>
<p>He had been helping out on an attack carried out by men who were connected to the mysterious disappearances he had been investigating. The disappearances that he and Mr Stark had been unable to track down. Despite over a month of effort.</p>
<p>If someone had managed to take him, then it was likely them.</p>
<p>And if that was the case, how on earth was Mr Stark going to find him?</p>
<p>He could feel his chest growing tight in panic. Damnit. He’d just told himself not to think about it. But of course, his stupid brain got carried away. Trying to solve a problem like it always did. Wanting to know all the answers.</p>
<p>Gasping for breath, his fingers clawed at his chest. Trying to ease the invisible pressure.</p>
<p>Squeezing his eyes closed he tipped his head back against the wall. Racking his brain, he tried to replicate the calming breathes Mr Stark always encouraged whenever he was having a panic attack. Breathing in for 4, holding for 7, then releasing for 8. It took him a couple goes to get through a full round without his breath catching, but after a few more minutes he had calmed enough to think clearly again.</p>
<p>He didn’t know how long he had been out for, but given his stomach wasn’t aching with hunger it couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours. Turning his attention to the chain attached to his ankle, he gripped the cool metals in his hands and pulled. Frowning when nothing happened, he tried again. His arms shaking with exertion. But still nothing. Not even a small creak of metal bending. Whatever the drugs were running through his system, they had weakened him enough that he couldn’t break the chain around his ankle. He couldn’t hear anything outside the room he was in either now that he thought about it. So he had no way of knowing if anyone was coming.</p>
<p>It made him feel even more vulnerable than he already had.</p>
<p>Choosing to ignore that thought, he let his mind wander. Keeping himself distracted.</p>
<p>He was supposed to have his first date with MJ tomorrow. He had finally built up the courage to ask her out earlier, after planning it for weeks. May and Ned had been teasing him about it constantly. Calling him a lovesick puppy over his crush but he couldn’t help it. MJ was amazing. But unless Mr Stark managed to pull off some kind of miracle, its unlikely that he’s going to make it to that date. He hopes that someone at least gets in touch with MJ to let her know. He doesn’t want her to think he stood her up. He’d never do that on purpose. Only Ned knew about the date though, he hadn’t had the chance to tell May yet. He was going to let her know about it over dinner that night.</p>
<p>Did May and Ned know he had been taken? Had Mr Stark told them? Or was the man too busy? How did he know that his mentor hadn’t been taken as well? Or Steve? Or Clint? They could be being held here and he wouldn’t even know it.</p>
<p>Running a hand over his face, he let his thoughts continue to wander.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peter had been staring at the wall for enough time for his stomach to start to cramp with hunger pains, when he heard someone unlocking the door.</p>
<p>Shifting to gaze at the opening door, he blinked at the light spilling into the room from the bright hallway. A shadowed figure stepped through the opening, stopping to lean against the wall opposite Peter.</p>
<p>Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he could make out the man standing across from him. He was at least 6ft with dark blonde hair and a scruffy beard. He had icy blue eyes, that held no warmth. The man was solidly built and his all-black tactile outfit added to his imposing figure.</p>
<p>Despite being Spider-Man, Peter felt himself pressing back against the wall to put distance between them. He felt intimidated. Exactly like a scared little kid.</p>
<p>Gulping audibly in fear, the man smirked at him.</p>
<p>“Glad that you’re up. It can be hit or miss with first time doses,” the man tilted his head as he studied Peter. “Welcome to your new home Peter. I know you had been looking into the disappearances recently, but we both know you weren’t exactly getting any closer to the source so it’s not like your dear Stark is suddenly going to show up anytime soon to get you. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be for you.”</p>
<p>“What do you want with me?” Peter questioned, proud when it came out sounding stronger than he felt.</p>
<p>Shaking his head, the man stepped forward, “You shouldn’t be talking without permission Peter. It will get you punished. I’ll let it go this time since we haven’t had a chance to explain the rules yet. First off, we are a… training programme of sorts. We get you ready for your new owners. We’re just the steppingstone.”</p>
<p>“Owners? So what? You’ve been taking teens to sell them on as what? Slaves? Are you insane?” Anger burned in the mans eyes as Peter spoke, causing him to clench his fists.</p>
<p>“Tut-tut. First rule, don’t speak unless explicitly told to. I already told you not to talk, so you’ll definitely be punished for that later. Second, if you ever do talk, you refer to me as sir. Do you understand?” Peter glared daggers at the man but bit his tongue to remain silent, not wanting to anger him further. At the mans pointed look, he reluctantly nodded his head. “Good, you’re training will begin in the morning. I take it you noticed that the drugs are dampening your powers, so I wouldn’t bother trying anything if I were you. It will just end badly. For you that is. I recommend you try to get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”</p>
<p>With that, the man left. Darkness fell over the room once more, as the door cut the light off from the hallway.</p>
<p>Letting out a huff of breath, Peter rubbed at his eyes.</p>
<p>This was bad.</p>
<p>Those guys hadn’t just been behind disappearances. They had been human trafficking teenagers this entire time, and he had no idea where they were.</p>
<p>Neither did Mr Stark.</p>
<p>He didn’t know what tomorrow was going to bring, but he knew it wouldn’t be good.</p>
<p>Despite his best efforts to convince himself otherwise, he was tired. Between the stressful day at school earlier, the fight with those men and then the drugs coursing through his system his body was ready for sleep. And if the man was right, then he would probably need as much strength as possible for whatever tomorrow was going to bring.</p>
<p>Shuffling until he was lying on the ground facing the door, he curled himself into a foetal position. Wincing as the cold floor bit at his bare skin. Letting the heaviness in his eyes pull them closed, he slowed his breathing.</p>
<p>He focused on counting his breaths to distract himself from thoughts of tomorrow.</p>
<p>He was out before he reached 60.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>xXxXxXx</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Glass shards were sent flying across the floor as Tony watched the wrench clatter to the ground.</p>
<p>He had been searching for over 6 hours and there were no signs of Peter anywhere. He had just disappeared into thin air.</p>
<p>Natasha and the others had returned an hour or so after he had arrived in the lab. Despite scouring the entire alley and the surroundings 5 times with a fine-toothed comb, they hadn’t been able to find anything of help.</p>
<p>Karen’s baby monitor footage had cut off as soon as Peter entered the building that been destroyed in the explosion. And FRIDAY had been unable to find any footage of Peter anywhere after the explosion. There were no suspicious people sighted nearby, and no vehicles that had looked out of place or even that were in a position that would have been able to help.</p>
<p>He had nothing.</p>
<p>Running his hands through his hair yet again, he gave himself another 30 seconds before he had to get back to work.</p>
<p>Peter couldn’t afford him breaking down right now.</p>
<p>Pepper and Rhodey had stopped by earlier to help. Pepper had left with Happy not long after the others had returned to go see May Parker, she had wanted to tell Peter’s aunt the news in person. Tony had appreciated it. He didn’t want her to find out her nephew was missing over the phone. She would need somebody there with her to support her. To stop her from spiralling. He didn’t think he would have been able to tell her the news without breaking. But Pepper had always been stronger than him. She and Happy had managed to convince May to stay at the Tower until Peter was found. Not wanting her to be alone.</p>
<p>Tony had sent Rhodey away from the lab about an hour ago when it became obvious that they weren’t going to be getting a location tonight. He loved his best friend, but the man was too calm. Tony needed to scream and shout, and he couldn’t do that when he had company. So he had begged Rhodey to go help out the other who were upstairs in the common area - that had been turned into a temporary ops room - to plan the next steps.</p>
<p>As soon as he had been alone, Tony had pulled up all of his and Peter’s research on the recent disappearances. FRIDAY had given the information to the others earlier when they arrived, but until now he had hoped whoever took his kid would have slipped up and he could have tracked down a location that way. But that hadn’t worked.</p>
<p>So far, he had just been met with a big load of nothing. Logically he knew that if this research could lead to a location then the others would have found it hours ago. But he had still hoped.</p>
<p>When it proved fruitless, he lost it. Wrecking the lab. Sending machines and equipment flying. Broken glass littering the floor. Dents in the wall from objects being flung with too much force.</p>
<p>He could see his bots cowering in the corner. But if he stopped wrecking things, then he’d start crying.</p>
<p>And he’s worried if he started crying that he might not be able to stop.</p>
<p>Picking up an empty coffee cup, he flinched when an alarm went off. Glancing at the clock he noticed it was 11pm. He’d had his 5-minute breakdown.</p>
<p>Placing the coffee cup back on his desk, he pulled his stool out and threw the holo-screens up.</p>
<p>It was time to get back to work.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: non-con touching (non-sexual and a sentence long)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter was jerked awake by the door swinging open. Squinting against the brightness, he shifted up to a seated position. Clenching his hands, his fingers were almost numb with the cold. He could feel the chill all the way in his bones. Curling his toes, he pulled his knees up to his chest. Squeezing into a ball and pressing himself back against the freezing cold wall. Away from the imposing figures entering the room.</p>
<p>The same man from yesterday walked in first, coming to a stop directly in front of him. But unlike yesterday he wasn’t alone. Behind him followed 4 large men, all in matching tactical gear with belts weighed down with weapons. He didn’t need his spidey-sense for him to know that they were bad news.</p>
<p>“Hope you managed to get some rest last night, you’re in for a long day,” the man from yesterday drawled, looking bored as he cast his eyes around the room. “You’re going to come with us for some tests. Just do as we say, and it can be done quickly and easily.”</p>
<p>Peters eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out. The drugs were still in his system but not as strong as the night before. He didn’t think he could break the chains yet, but he could certainly put up a fight if the men tried anything. But 5 against 1 wasn’t exactly very good odds.</p>
<p>Especially when the one was limited by the chain attaching his ankle to the wall.</p>
<p>As he eyed up the men, he noticed one of them holding heavy looking metal handcuffs. His muscles tensed in preparation. For what he didn’t know, but he had to try something. If they got the cuffs on him then he knows he will be at their mercy.</p>
<p>“Now, turn around and hold your wrists out behind you,” the man demanded.</p>
<p>Shaking his head, Peter clenched his fists pushing himself up to stand. He was Spider-Man. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.</p>
<p>Sighing, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a funny looking gun. Before Peter could place a name to it, the man had shot it and a blinding pain sent Peter toppling to the ground. His muscles seized as he felt fire racing through his body. He might have been screaming but he couldn’t tell for sure. His surroundings faded into the background. The only thing he could focus on was the pain.</p>
<p>It couldn’t have lasted for more than 30 seconds, but it left him twitching idly on the floor. Phantom pains continued to rack his body. He whimpered as his body was manhandled until he was lying on his front and his arms were yanked behind his back. Metal cuffs closed too tightly around his wrists. He could feel the sharp metal edges biting into his sensitive flesh. Someone was unchaining his ankle, but he couldn’t even think about trying to make a run for it. His muscles no longer felt under his control.</p>
<p>Without any warning he was being pulled to his feet. Struggling to get his legs to take some weight to ease the pressure on his shoulders from where the men were holding him up, he squinted trying to work out what was happening.</p>
<p>The men were talking and laughing around him, but his mind was too fuzzy to pick up on the words.</p>
<p>He blinked in confusion when the man was suddenly standing in front of him. Rough hands grabbing his chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes. A sharp slap to his cheek brought his focus back enough to pick up on the words being spoken.</p>
<p>“We told you to do as we say, if you don’t there will be consequences. Now you’ve made us late for your tests, so you’ll end up regretting that later on boy,” the man sneered, nodding to someone behind Peter.</p>
<p>Unable to see what was going on, he was taken by surprise when a black sack was pulled over his head. Blocking his sight.</p>
<p>A shove to his back was the only warning he got before being marched out the room.</p>
<p>His steps were wobbly. Muscles still recovering from the taser. But he tried to focus on where he was going. It could be important for getting out. To know some of his surroundings. Mr Stark had mentioned once in passing about how doing something similar had helped him when he was held in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Taking a stuttering breath, he shifted his attention to keeping track of the turns as the men pushed and pulled him around bends. Straight. Right. Left. Straight for a while. Left. Right. Another Right. A sudden left.</p>
<p>The men grabbed his arms forcing him to stumble to a stop. He was roughly shoved back onto something that sapped what remaining heat he had left in his body. They pushed him until he was lying on his back, his body automatically tensed, lifting his back off the cold metal beneath him. The men ignored it and set to work fastening restraints across his legs, chest, arms and hips. Undoing the cuffs around his wrists so they could restrain his arms down by his side. Making it so he couldn’t move. No way to avoid the biting metal beneath him.</p>
<p>That didn’t stop him from trying to break them though. Tensing his muscles as much as he could and testing the restraints.</p>
<p>The crackle of the taser nearby was enough of a threat to stop him trying.</p>
<p>Instead, he remained tense trying to breathe through his panic. He still couldn’t see anything. Shaking his head to try and dislodge the sack over his face, he froze when hands suddenly rested on his throat. Someone yanked the sack off causing Peter to squeeze his eyes shut against the onslaught of light.</p>
<p>He could hear the men laughing around him. The sound echoing off the walls.</p>
<p>Slowly squinting his eyes open, he glanced around to see he was in what appeared to be a sterile white room. Tiles on the floor and walls. Medical equipment lay neatly lined up on trays around the room. Glancing down he noted he had indeed been strapped down onto a metal table.</p>
<p>Swallowing around his dry throat, Peter tried not to think about what this all meant. They had mentioned they were going to do tests earlier. It would appear that they meant medical ones. Just his luck. They couldn’t have just wanted to know how good he was at maths or something.</p>
<p>No. They planned on cutting him open to see how he ticks. He’d heard the threat plenty of times before when he was out on patrol, but no one had ever gotten close enough to actually try it.</p>
<p>He could feel his heart beginning to race in his chest.</p>
<p>The sound of the door opening drew Peters attention away from his internal panic and towards a short man entering the room. He wore a long white doctors coat, layered over a shirt and bow-tie. His thin brown hair was balding, and he had old fashioned wire-rimmed glasses. He slowly glanced around the room before his steely gaze settled on Peter.</p>
<p>The man, Peter was assuming was the doctor, looked down to consult the folder he was holding, before wandering over to one of the tables. The other men in the room were all watching as the doctor moved around. Peter guessed he was the most powerful man in the room right now, since the others had all tensed when he had entered.</p>
<p>The doctor surveyed the equipment in front of him, as if unaware of every set of eyes in the room were on him. Eventually, the doctor nodded and spun to face Peter. The mans gaze had him shrinking into himself.</p>
<p>“I’m Dr. Steele. It’s my job to make sure we know how you work and that you are in a suitable condition to eventually be sold on. Our institution has a good reputation, and we can’t be found to be dealing faulty <em>merchandise.</em> We’ve got a number of tests to get through this morning, and the more you cooperate the sooner we can be done,” Dr Steele walked up to Peter, pulling a tray alongside him, before stopping by his left arm, tying a tight band round his bicep before tapping on the joint to pull up a vein. Peter could see the contents of the tray. It was covered in needles and vials. He fought to keep his nausea at bay. Needles gave him the heeby-jeebies. They always had done. “Any questions before we get started?” The doctor was staring down at him with a raised eyebrow.</p>
<p>Licking his dry lips, Peter couldn’t help but feel small for asking, “Will it hurt?”</p>
<p>The doctor just shrugged before reaching out for one of the larger needles, “Not all of them, and less if you don’t fight back.”</p>
<p>Giving a slight nod in response, Peter tensed at the sharp scratch of the needle. He determinedly kept his eyes away from the vials he knew the man was filling with his blood. He dreaded to think about what the man would do with his DNA. He hoped that Mr Stark would find him before they managed to weaponize it or anything like that.</p>
<p>Once the needle was removed, Peter shifted his gaze back over to Dr Steele. He was jotting down some notes in his notebook, before wheeling over a machine. It looked like a fancy polygraph machine. Peter had seen some of them in the police station when he had been invited for a tour as Spider-Man. They had recently agreed to see him as a helper rather than a criminal vigilante which had made his patrols a lot easier. He’s pretty sure their sudden change of tune had been helped my Mr Stark, but his mentor was always vague and quick to change the subject whenever he brought it up.</p>
<p>The men in the room were assisting Dr Steele with getting the equipment attached to Peters body, with pads sticking to his arms and chest. While the doctor settled himself on a stool beside the machine, notebook in his lap.</p>
<p>“Now, we have some questions we will need answers to. About your powers and about yourself. I recommend you answer truthfully if you lie to me there will be consequences. Now lets start, what’s your full name?”</p>
<p>Peter didn’t know if he should answer. This seemed like the sort of thing that Natasha had warned against. Where they would ask simple questions to make him drop his guard.</p>
<p>He had met her on his second visit to the compound. Her and Clint had been messing about in the kitchen, arguing over who was supposed to be cooking dinner that night, when he had walked in on the hunt for a snack. He had frozen not sure whether to continue his search for food or whether to turn and run when Natasha had smiled at him, offering him a packet of crisps.</p>
<p>They had quickly become friends, or at least Peter thought they were friends, and were often found chatting at random times of the day. Natasha didn’t seem to mind his rambling and in fact would often encourage it. She would recount him with tales of her past and she seemed to enjoy being able to pass on some of her wisdom. One of those things being interrogation techniques. She had told him that they would start with simple questions and before you knew it you would be spilling your deepest darkest secrets.</p>
<p>So did that mean he shouldn’t tell them his name? It’s not like they didn’t already know it. The man had called him Peter yesterday. He’s not naive enough to think that that’s all they learned. But blatantly telling them his name also seemed like a bad idea.</p>
<p>Instead of answering, Peter shifted his gaze from the doctor to the ceiling above him. Trying to ignore the feeling of unease growing in his stomach.</p>
<p>A sigh from the doctor was the only warning he got, before a taser was being pressed into the sensitive skin of his stomach. He yelled out in both pain and surprise. The restraints biting into his skin as his body tried to curl in on itself. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but it left him panting.</p>
<p>“Don’t make me ask again, your name?”</p>
<p>Squeezing his eyes shut, he sent a silent apology out to Natasha for breaking so easily before he croaked out, “P-peter Benjamin Parker.”</p>
<p>“Good. Now, date of birth?”</p>
<p>A tear slowly slid from his eye coming to rest at his ear as he whispered, “A-august 10<sup>th</sup>, 2-2001”</p>
<p>“How did you get your powers?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>xXxXxXx</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tension in the Compound was stifling.</p>
<p>Nobody had slept yet. She wasn’t convinced anyone would even be able to if they tried. Everyone was tired, but not in a way that sleep could fix. It was a bone deep weariness left by the missing member of their team.</p>
<p>Natasha had seen this too many times before. Agents going missing on missions. People she had known and worked with for years. Of course, the plan was always to get them back, but with no leads or evidence left behind she knew the chances of getting someone back alive was slim. And even if they were returned, there were never any promises on the state of the missing agent when that happened. No way to know what torture they might have endured. Even if they came back in body, some agents never returned fully in their minds. Losing part of themselves during their ordeal.</p>
<p>But this wasn’t just any agent missing. This was Spider-Man.</p>
<p>It was Peter Parker.</p>
<p>The boy who was so young and full of enthusiasm that she couldn’t help but smile when she was around him. Within the first few minutes of meeting him, she had understood why Tony had been so protective over him. Hell, she had turned out the same way. She is by no means maternal by nature, but she had been doing her damnest to impart as much wisdom as she could onto the boy to help keep him safe out in the field.</p>
<p>The whole team had.</p>
<p>The past couple of months, whenever the boy came to spend his weekends at the compound with Tony, they would always take a couple of hours out for team training. She had watched as the team all shifted into protective mode around Peter. He had a way of clicking with everybody. He had found his way into all their hearts. Which was certainly no mean feat. As a result, he was often found in the evenings chatting with various Avengers. All of them doing their best to make sure he was happy and safe.</p>
<p>It hadn’t been enough.</p>
<p>Whoever these guys are had still managed to get him, from right under their noses. Hell, Tony, Steve and Clint had been mere metres away from him when he was last seen. His suit discovered just a block from where they had been fighting. Not one of them had seen a thing.</p>
<p>Rhodey had joined them last night after Tony had kicked him out of the lab. He had sat down with a heaviness they had all been feeling when he confirmed that Karen and FRIDAY couldn’t find anything. Just like all the other disappearances the team had been reading about upstairs.</p>
<p>Peter had kept detailed records of everything he had been investigating. Notes about the locations of the disappearances. Records of those who were taken and any slight overlaps in routine or backgrounds with other victims. Interviews he had done with some of the victims families in the hopes of finding anything. His friend, someone recorded as ‘Guy in the Chair’, had even hacked into some CCTV footage around the time of the disappearances to check for anyone hanging around looking suspicious etc. Everything that Natasha would have thought of doing, he had already tried. Despite his weeks of effort there still hadn’t proved to be any leads. Everything led to dead-ends. They didn’t even know why they were taking the teens in the first place.</p>
<p>The only information they had was from the one small image with some men dressed in tactical gear holding the powerful weapons. The same ones the men were using during the attack he was taken from.</p>
<p>The hopelessness hadn’t stopped any of them though. They couldn’t let it. They had worked through the night, taking turns to refill the coffee pot as they dug through the research and followed up on any leads they came across, no matter how small or irrelevant they may have seemed.</p>
<p>But they were still no closer.</p>
<p>None of them had stopped for dinner last night or breakfast this morning. But Fury stormed in just after twelve apparently deciding that ignoring two meals was enough.</p>
<p>“I don’t care if you claim you’re not hungry. Every single one of you is going over to the table and eating your damn lunch or I swear to God I’ll burn all this research right now,” the man flipped open a lighter as he spoke, daring anyone to argue with him.</p>
<p>Natasha knew what the man was doing. He was looking out for the team, but when they could only think of the missing boy he came across as the bad guy. Despite that, she didn’t doubt for one second that he would burn all of the paperwork if they didn’t head over to the kitchen.</p>
<p>Slowly the others made their way over to the table and took their seats. Solemnly pulling out plates and lumping piles of pasta and salad onto them. Steve and Bucky quickly devoured their first helping - their supersoldier metabolisms struggling after going so long without food - while Sam, Clint, Wanda, Rhodey, Fury and herself picked through their own plates much slower.</p>
<p>As she was eating, Natasha’s thoughts kept flitting back to how much effort they must be putting into these disappearances to not leave any traces behind whatsoever. They always leave all the electronics behind with no traces of DNA or anything to find.</p>
<p>It’s a hard thing to do. </p>
<p>It’s an <em>expensive </em>thing to do.</p>
<p>Dropping her fork, her back straightened as the thought hit her. She knew what they must be doing. The only thing that would make sense given the effort it must take.</p>
<p>“Nat?” Clint spoke up from beside her, she noticed the others were all watching her. Obviously concerned by her sudden change in posture.</p>
<p>“I know why they’re taking them,” she spoke levelly. She couldn’t afford to think about Peter in this situation. She had to just think about it from an objective standpoint. Just another mission. “Think about it, they leave no traces. They work as a well-oiled machine to avoid leaving any evidence they were there in the first place. That takes a lot of money and planning. Bribes in high up places to keep the disappearances under wraps. They’re not exactly fussy with the demographic of teens that they take, taking a variety of boys and girls. They wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t money in it for them.”</p>
<p>Glancing around the room, she watched as her words sunk in. Steve swallowed before carefully stating, “So you think that they are what? <em>Selling </em>them? Why would anyone <em>sell</em> a <em>person</em>?”</p>
<p>Natasha shrugged slightly, “There are plenty of reasons. For manual labour. For housework. For sport. Sadistic tendencies… <em>pleasure.</em>” The last one she barely managed to choke out. She couldn’t get Peter’s face out of her mind. “I’d bet they sell for a hell of a price and it would need to be organised to avoid detection. There must be plenty of these organisations across the country. We know that human trafficking is more common than we’d like to believe.”</p>
<p>“Okay…” Bucky agreed, looking slightly green around the edges. “So they take them to sell them. How does that help us when they leave no trace?”</p>
<p>“I’ve got some… <em>contacts</em> that could help us. The type that would be able to get us in to some of these <em>auctions - </em>I suppose is the best word for them - where we could go in undercover and get the kids out,” she admitted. It wasn’t often she had to rely on her more untrustworthy underground contacts, but they still came in handy.</p>
<p>Sam was the first to nod, “Right, but how will we know which one Peter is at?”</p>
<p>Natasha swallowed against the nausea in her throat, “We don’t. We just hope that we get lucky. Maybe put some feelers out saying we are interested in an enhanced for manual labour or something and we might hear something back.”</p>
<p>Rhodey sighed, putting his head in his hands, “We can’t even break them up when we find them can we? If whoever has Peter finds out the Avengers and SHIELD are going after auctions then they would know who we are after and could end up…” everyone held their breath at the unsaid implication, “We couldn’t risk it.”</p>
<p>“No, you’re right. We need to start finding these… <em>auctions</em>… and going undercover to get the kids out. But we can’t touch the people in charge. We can keep tabs on them though so we can get them as soon as its safe,” Steve took charge.</p>
<p>Fury nodded along with the Captains words, as he pulled out his phone. “Sounds like a plan. I’m gonna make sure SHIELD are ready to go with some fake identities etc. Someone should make sure Stark and the kids aunt are updated with the new developments.” As the man stood, he rested his hand on Natasha’s shoulder before turning to leave, “Good work Romanoff.”</p>
<p>Pushing back from the table, Natasha left her lunch behind. She wasn’t exactly hungry anymore.</p>
<p>Besides she had some phone calls to make.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>xXxXxXx</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wasn’t sure how long he had been strapped to the table for, but it must have been hours. Every word felt like sandpaper in his throat. He still hadn’t been given anything to drink and he was scared to ask them for anything.</p>
<p>They had already been through how he got his powers, what he could do, what he has found to be his current limitations (he hadn’t liked the way they had worded that one), his fears, any allergies, favourite foods, clothing choices, his favourite music, if he had ever drunk alcohol or done drugs (no) and about his sexual history (non-existent).</p>
<p>He has no idea why they wanted to know all that stuff, but when they had finally finished with the questions, he had thought that would be it.</p>
<p>But no.</p>
<p>Once they were done with the questions, they had moved on to taking further samples. Of his hair, his fingernails, skin samples from his hand - which had hurt a lot - and then they had removed his boxers. When he had started to protest, he had been tased until they managed to get them pulled down to his mid-thigh without a fight. They had taken a urine sample, which had caused his cheeks to burn bright red when the doctor threatened the use of a catheter, as he struggled to relax enough to relieve himself with one of the men holding him before they finally covered him back up.</p>
<p>Once they had taken all the samples, Dr Steele had stepped back from the table turning his back to him. Picking up something from the unit, the doctor turned back round and attached a large metal cuff around Peters right bicep, locking it in place. He stared at it, trying to work out what it was.</p>
<p>“That’s me for today, he’s all yours boys.” With a dismissive wave of his hand, the other men all lurched forward. Slipping the sack back over his head, while others unfastened the restraints, reattaching the cuffs behind his back. Before he knew it, he was being pulled onto his feet and led through the winding hallways again.</p>
<p>His feet could barely keep up with the pace that the guards had set. Through the fuzziness in his mind, he could make out screams coming from a door nearby. Turning his head to try and locate the source, the men just yanked him along quicker.</p>
<p>Before he knew it, he was being flung onto the ground again as he felt a chain wrap around his left ankle. One of the men pulled the sack of his head and Peters eyes scanned his surroundings to confirm he had been returned to his original room. His hands were still handcuffed behind him and the men just smirked as he struggled to pull them free.</p>
<p>“Boss says the handcuffs stay since you didn’t come willingly earlier, serves you right you freak.”</p>
<p>Peter’s shoulders were aching from the angle they had been pulled in. He tried to keep his face neutral as he took in the news that they wouldn’t be removing the cuffs likely till tomorrow. But from the mens cruel chuckles, he’s not sure he managed.</p>
<p>His stomach rumbled loudly as the men approached the door to leave, prompting one of them to turn round.</p>
<p>“I almost forgot,” he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a squished sandwich and small bottle of water, placing them against the wall beside the door with a smirk, “Enjoy.”</p>
<p>As the door slammed shut, he could hear the laughter slowly fade away as they wandered off down the corridor.</p>
<p>Eying the food Peter shakily got to his feet. His balance was off with his hands stuck behind his back and his muscles still felt weak from the drugs and the taser earlier. He managed to shuffle halfway across the room before the chain on his ankle stopped him from travelling any further.</p>
<p>He couldn’t get any closer.</p>
<p>He felt tears burning in his eyes as he stared longingly at the food. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he had last eaten, but if he could already feel hunger pains stabbing at his stomach.</p>
<p>Slowly dropping to his knees, he stretched out to lie straight forwards towards the food. Maybe his mouth would be able to reach and drag it back to him? Once he was flat out, stretching as far as possible, he let out a sob when he realised he was still a full heads length away from the food.</p>
<p>He tried twisting to see if his arms could stretch out from behind him to reach the food, but it was no use.</p>
<p>He could do nothing but look at the food. His mouth felt dryer than the Sahara after having no water and being forced to talk for so long. Yet, the bottle of water was so close yet so far. He’s surprised he still had water to waste on tears. His stomach rumbled loudly again. Demanding the food that was cruelly left just out of his reach.</p>
<p>Unable to find the energy to move back over to where he had been. He simply curled into himself as much as his cuffed arms would allow in the middle of the room as his body continued to tremble with sobs.</p>
<p>Alone on the cold concrete floor, he eventually slipped into a fitful sleep. Hoping that Mr Stark and the Avengers would come and get him soon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to everyone who is reading this fic! I hope that you are enjoying it.</p><p>TW: mentions of past torture/injury</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Blinking his eyes open, Peter’s gaze settled on his alarm clock before leaping to his feet. He rushed to throw on some jeans and a clean science pun t-shirt before running to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Sighing as he ran a comb through his hair. There was no way he would be able to tame his curls in time. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Shooting one last glance in the mirror, he grabbed his bag and made his way to the compounds common area. He and aunt May had moved in with the Avengers as it made them all feel safer after everything that had happened, and it meant May didn’t need to work as much to keep up with the cost of rent in the city meaning he got to spend more time with her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everyone was already lounging around enjoying their breakfast when Peter came skidding into the room. Sam, Clint and Bucky were spread out on the couch playing some Mario Kart. Natasha was relaxing at the breakfast bar chatting with May and Pepper as they tidied up after breakfast. Steve was chatting with Bruce over by the windows. Tony had been involved in the discussion but excused himself once he spotted him coming in. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Morning Pete, nice of you to finally join us,” his mentor grinned.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter ducked his head in embarrassment as he grabbed some cold pancakes. “I slept in and she’s going to be here any minute,” he ran a hand through his hair, “what if I mess this up?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stepping forward, Tony rested his hands on Peters shoulders, giving him no option than to look at his mentor. “You have nothing to worry about, she’s lucky to have you. Just be kind and not too pushy. She wouldn’t have said yes in the first place if she didn’t like you. So just try to relax, okay?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nodding, he felt himself slowly starting to relax at his mentors reassuring words. He could feel the eyes of the others in the room on him, but he tried to block them out. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He heard Clint pausing their game, before leaping over the couch. No doubt to start teasing Peter about his upcoming date. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Before the archer had the chance to open his mouth, FRIDAY interrupted letting them know that MJ had arrived and was waiting by the front doors. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sending a quick panicked look around the room, Peter took a deep breath, grabbed his bag and ran for the elevator.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’ll be fine sweetie,” May crooned as she waved him off, “have fun!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“But not too much fun Petey, it’s still the first date!” Clint added smirking, earning himself a playful slap from Mr Stark.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Groaning, Peter waved them off. Readjusting his grip on his backpack, he gave them all a shaky smile as FRIDAY closed the elevator doors. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the blink of an eye, he was standing in the foyer. His palms started getting sweaty when he spotted MJ standing with her back to him outside. Taking a deep steadying breath, he continued on shaky legs outside. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Shouldering the front doors open, MJ spun round to face him. A smile lighting up her entire face. He couldn’t help but admire how her smile created small wrinkles around her eyes and made her whole face glow. He couldn’t stop a grin of his own spreading across his face just from watching her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She walked forward to meet him, stopping mere inches apart. His breath caught, as his eyes darted from her own to her lips. She bit her lower lip as she leant forward. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>This was it. His first kiss. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He could feel the heat of MJs face radiating against his own as they inched closer together. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>There couldn’t have been more than a millimetre between their parted lips. Their breaths mingling. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>A final push forward …</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Peter awoke with a gasp, tears streaming down his face.</p><p>His eyes darted around the room, confirming he was alone. He curled himself up into a tight ball, wincing as the movement irritated the chafed skin on his ankle under the chain. The chill of the concrete beneath him continued to seep into his bones. His tattered boxers doing nothing to keep out the cold.</p><p>Peter thought his body might have adjusted to the cool temperatures after weeks of this. But apparently not. He still found it just as cold as he did that first day.</p><p>By his estimates, today marks 4 weeks since he was taken.</p><p>An entire month.</p><p>The Avengers still hadn’t shown up. He hadn’t given up hope that they would show, but it was getting harder to believe that they would each day.</p><p>The hope almost hurt more than his reality. It was one of the reasons he avoided sleep whenever possible nowadays. But there was only so long he could go before his body would drift off without his permission.</p><p>In his dreams he would be reunited with everyone. It varied who was in them, but whoever showed up in his dreams and no matter what they did, they were always happy. He had dreamt of having multiple first dates with MJ, having movie nights with Ned, lab days with Mr Stark, having dinner with May and then just generally hanging out with the Avengers. The activities would change. They would have new conversations. It was always varied. But it didn’t matter what he dreamt.</p><p>They all ended the same way.</p><p>They all ended with him gasping awake and curling into a ball to try and alleviate the invisible pain blooming in his chest. A pain that was not related to any injury.</p><p>There were no windows in his room to let him estimate the time. The best he had was the metal band around his right bicep. He had discovered, the day after Doctor Steele had put it on, that it was a device that injected the drugs into his system. Every morning like clockwork, there was an almost silent beep before he would feel a needle stabbing his arm. Injecting him with drugs that disabled his spidey powers. He didn’t know how they did it or what it was, but when he was dosed he had no super strength, no super hearing and his spidey-sense didn’t seem to work either – not that he needed it much anymore, he knew he was in danger. His healing was also reduced. Still quicker than a regular human, but not up to his regular speed. Although he supposed the lack of sleep and reduced food intake could have something to do with that one.</p><p>They seemed to be taking him to the doctor once a week. The man would take more blood, skin and urine samples and replace his metal band with a new one.  </p><p>The days in-between the visits to Dr Steele were worse. The guards would come in and drag him off to various rooms throughout the facility he was being held in. Always with the bag over his head so he couldn’t see. They were apparently ‘preparing’ him for when he was sold on. He had to be <em>trained.</em> Like they thought he was some show dog.</p><p>They wanted to know how much weight he could lift. Which turns out even with his powers being dampened was still almost 1000lbs. Which given his size was an impressive feat. Of course, they didn’t just have him set up in a gym like normal people. They had him set up under some massive machine, that would increase the weight pressing down on him until he physically couldn’t hold it anymore and thought he was going to be crushed. He had cried out as the weight pressed him into the floor, limbs splaying out around him, before they paused the machine. Leaving him trapped but not squished before they eventually released the weight. Giving him space to slide out before they reset it to try again.</p><p>They had wanted to make sure that he could follow orders, so they had forced him into what he could only describe as a ridiculous game of Simon Says. They gave an order and if he didn’t follow it quickly enough then he would find himself writhing on the ground in pain. Another fun feature of the metal band on his arm was the ability to produce shocks strong enough to knock him down. Controlled by some remote the guards used.</p><p>He’d been put through cooking lessons. Ordered to follow ridiculous recipes while wearing a muzzle to prevent him from eating any of the ingredients. He hadn’t been allowed anything to eat until he had perfected multiple dishes that trained chefs would struggle with if they weren’t allowed to taste it.</p><p>He’d been made to clean an entire room from top to bottom, just for the men to come in and mess it up telling him to start again and do it quicker. He was told that he had to be trained to handle any type of owner, hence the seemingly random tasks.</p><p>Reluctantly he would go along with all their stupid tests and complete any annoying tasks he was given. He’d learned quickly that not doing what they asked, didn’t end well.</p><p>When he had awoken that second morning after falling asleep with his hands still cuffed behind his back, Peter had been forced awake with a bucket of freezing cold water being poured over his face. The guards had dragged him off to a room that was filled with gym equipment. After unchaining his hands, they had demanded he get on the treadmill. He had refused. He had been tired after not sleeping well. He was thirstier than he had ever been in his life and his stomach was aching with hunger.</p><p>Besides he was Spider-Man. He wasn’t going to just give in to their demands without a fight.</p><p>But he was drugged and weak after not having eaten in over 24 hours.</p><p>After giving him one more warning, which he refused while trying to channel as much signature Tony Stark arrogance as he could, the guards had smirked and moved in for the attack. Peter had tried to fight them off, but he only managed to get in a couple of hits before they had overpowered him and dragged him down the corridor to another barren room.</p><p>The guards quickly attached chains around his wrists in front of him before attaching them to a pulley system which was raised, leaving him hanging by his wrists. Another doctor had been called in briefly to attach an IV to his arm, presumably so he didn’t die from dehydration or malnourishment before they were done, but then he had been left alone. His shoulders had screamed in agony as they were supporting his body weight. The strain being placed on them after being held in position all night was too much, and pained sobs had ripped through his body.</p><p>Not much later a couple of guards had walked back in with a strip of leather material hanging over one of their arms. Blinking through his tears, Peter noticed with a jolt of fear that it wasn’t actually a strip of leather. It was a whip. As the guards disappeared behind him, he fought to keep his breathing steady. Not wanting to let on how scared he really was.</p><p>They hadn’t given him any warning before they started. No explanation given. One second the two men were shuffling around behind him and the next they had started hitting his back. He tried to hold back his cries, but the pain had been too much. He had screamed his throat hoarse. His back had felt like it was being split apart. Blood trickled down the backs of his legs. He could feel the stickiness of blood settling between his toes causing him to swallow around a wave of nausea.</p><p>Peter had continued screaming, begging the men to stop, for Mr Stark to come save him, for them to let him go, for anybody. But the guards continued on. Ignoring all his pleas.</p><p>He has no idea if they stopped once he eventually passed out or not.</p><p>He had awoken sometime later chained back up again in his room. His back on fire. Even the smallest movements that came with breathing had caused pained whimpers to slip past his lips. The blood that had been coating him when he passed out had been removed but the pain still blazed.</p><p>The next day when they came in demanding that he get on the treadmill, he hadn’t fought them. Shuffling on to the treadmill with tears spilling down his cheeks. He stumbled on the machine, moving as quickly as he could, gasping for breath. His back had been on fire and his muscles were weak. As he moved the wounds on his back reopened and blood had poured down his legs. But he had been too scared to say no and face another punishment.</p><p>At least he was fed when he returned to his room later that day.</p><p>It had taken over a week for his back to be anywhere close to healed. To get to a stage were walking didn’t reopen his wounds. No painkillers had been provided either.</p><p>Since that day, he had made the decision to just do what they said. It wasn’t that he had given up. No, he still kept an eye out for possible escape routes. But he knew that he couldn’t fight them off. He played it smart. Keeping himself alive until the others could find him. And they would find him.</p><p>They had to.</p><p>If they didn’t, then he had no idea what he was going to do.</p><p>The prick of a needle coming from his band caught his attention. He could feel the cool trickle of the drugs filtering into his system.</p><p>Slowly pushing himself to a seated position, he eyed the door warily. It usually wasn’t long between the drugs being administered and his ‘breakfast’ being served. He was usually provided with a couple slices of stale bread and a small glass of water in the mornings. Enough sustenance to get him through whatever they had in store for the morning.</p><p>As if on cue the door swung open. Three guards swarmed into the room; guns aimed at him. At this point Peter thought the guns were slightly redundant. As much as they flattered him, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t a match against them in his current state. He could probably take on one of them in a head-to-head if they were on an even playing field. But he was chained to a wall. And they never came in alone.</p><p>“Get up,” one of the guards ordered.</p><p>Pushing himself up on shaky legs, Peter stood keeping his gaze away from the guards eyes. He could still remember the broken nose he had received last time he looked someone in the eye.</p><p>“Turn around and hold your hands out behind your back.”</p><p>Complying with the command, Peter had to bite his tongue to prevent him from asking where they were going. They had never gone anywhere this early in the morning before.</p><p>The guards worked like a well-oiled machine, slipping the bag over his head as the chain was undone around his ankle. Peter had learned to keep up with the men as he was marched around the corridors blindfolded. Falling behind just led to shocks and being dragged along the floor. Despite his escorting around the facility being a regular occurrence it was still disorientating. Never knowing where he would end up. Every time he thought he had the directions down to a tee. That he had mapped out the facility he was being held in. But then he would blink his eyes open in a new and unfamiliar room and realise this place was a lot bigger than he originally thought.</p><p>This time was no different.</p><p>He was led into a room that smelt of soap and sweat. A bit like his schools changing rooms. Blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light once the bag was removed, he wasn’t too surprised when it turned out that he was in the middle of a shower room. Not much different to the ones in school. Shower heads lined two of the walls. Floor to ceiling tiled with what he imagined were once white tiles, but now were greying and cracked.</p><p>The guard behind him leant closer to undo his restraints, “Don’t try anything boy.” Nodding his head in confirmation, he pulled his arms round in front of him as soon as they were released.</p><p>“Strip,” the order from behind caused him to pause. He assumed they were actually going to let him shower, which was great, but were they going to watch him? The only other times they had removed his boxers were in the doctors lab. “Don’t make me repeat myself,” the guard growled.</p><p>Sucking in a deep breath, Peter dropped his boxers with shaking hands. Moving to cover himself as he stood there awkwardly. Unsure what to do.</p><p>“Well? You know how to shower don’t you?” one of the guards sneered, shoving him towards the showers.</p><p>Nodding his head, Peter made his way to the furthest away shower head from the men. Keeping his back to them, he turned the gage to set the water running and stepped under the stream. Pleasantly surprised to find it lukewarm, rather than the freezing cold he had been expecting.</p><p>He hadn’t had a shower since he had been taken. He could feel a months worth of grime running off him as he scrubbed at his skin and hair with his hands. The sounds of footsteps approaching had him tensing. Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw one the guards stop just outside the spray of water. Flinching when the man reached out a hand towards him.</p><p>“Use this, you need to be presentable.”</p><p>Noticing that the man was handing him a small bottle of soap, Peter reached out a shaking hand to take it. As soon as Peters fingers closed around the bottle, the man retreated again.</p><p>Relishing in the water and the apple scented soap, he felt the tension seeping out of his muscles. It wasn’t exactly good, but it was the best he’d had for a while.</p><p>He couldn’t wait to be back at the compound and be able to use the amazing spa showerheads that Mr Stark had installed in all the bathrooms. The water pressure felt like a massage, and the temperature always came out perfect. That sounded like heaven right now. He closed his eyes. Letting himself for a moment forget about where he was and just enjoying the shower.</p><p>“Hurry up,” one of the guards snapped causing Peter to jump. Quickly scrubbing a hand over his face to remove any traces of tears the thoughts of the compound might have caused, he shut off the water and stepped away from the shower. Covering himself with his hands while he dripped water onto the broken tiles. Peter’s heart leapt into his throat when he noticed his boxers were no longer on the ground where he had left them. Glancing around the room, he couldn’t find them anywhere.</p><p>“Catch.”</p><p>Looking up just in time, Peter managed to catch a towel being thrown at him. Eyeing it warily, he heard one of the men huff a laugh. “Dry yourself and get dressed.”</p><p>Furrowing his brow in confusion, he scanned the room again for what he was supposed to get dressed into. His underwear was gone. He didn’t have anything that would allow him to ‘get dressed’.</p><p>Still not wanting to disobey a direct order, he carefully towelled himself dry before rubbing the towel through his hair. Once finished, he held the towel in front of him. Giving himself some form of protection from the mens unwavering gaze.</p><p>“Come here,” one of the men beckoned Peter forward.</p><p>Swallowing against the dryness in his throat, Peter crept forward. Coming to a stop in front of the man. He saw the guards hand reach out for the towel and pull it out of Peters grasp, before his other hand thrust a pair of white boxer-briefs into his now empty hands.</p><p>He stared incomprehensively at them for a moment, before quickly slipping into them. They were a bit on the small side, but it was still better than having nothing on. Even if they clung to him uncomfortably.</p><p>One of the men circled him, pulling his arms out behind him to chain them up again and shoving the bag over his head, before he was being dragged out and along winding corridors once more.</p><p>This time when they stopped in a room, Peter could hear other people. Feet shuffling around. Quiet sobbing. Panicked breathing.</p><p>When the bag was pulled off his head, his eyes widened like saucers glancing around the room.</p><p>It was full of people. Or more accurately full of teens. At least 30 of them.</p><p>A mix of boys and girls. A range of races and body shapes.</p><p>They all looked terrified.</p><p>There were guards dotted around the room in the familiar black tactical gear. The teens were all standing around with their hands tied behind their backs. Some were dressed in white underwear similar to Peter but the majority of them were completely naked. He felt his cheeks flush with colour as he averted his eyes from the others in the room.</p><p>“That’s the last of them boss,” one of the men who had been escorting Peter announced.</p><p>From somewhere deeper in the room, someone clapped their hands together. A middle-aged gentleman strode forward, dressed sharply in a three-piece suit. Peter could see the gun he was hiding in his waistband. He waltzed over to a door opposite the one Peter had just entered, casting a slightly manic grin around the room before reaching for the doorhandle, “It’s showtime.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy!</p><p>TW: Referenced/implied rape, nudity (not graphic), human trafficking (although if that triggers you then this fic is really not for you, sorry)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony braced his hands on the bathroom counter watching his reflection. He barely recognised the man staring back at him.</p><p>Since Peter had come into his life, he had made a real effort to make healthier decisions. To take care of himself. He had stopped drinking. He had ensured he was sleeping a minimum of 6 hours each night. He aimed for three meals a day, although he was still known to completely forget about lunch while he was in the lab working on a project. He had started going to therapy more regularly rather than his previous approach of waiting for all his issues to boil over into a breakdown before seeking help. He had been exercising more frequently as well. Training with the team without his suit on and boxing with Happy weekly.</p><p>But that had all stopped when Peter was taken.</p><p>Yesterday had marked one month since Peters disappearance.</p><p>An entire month.</p><p>And they still hadn’t found him.</p><p>The past month had been filled with him working. Doing everything he could to bring his kid home. He couldn’t afford to rest.</p><p>He would lock himself in his lab, working on anything he could to stop himself from breaking down.</p><p>He would don the Iron Man suit scouring the city for any clues he might have missed. Not that there would be any left now. He just couldn’t face admitting defeat.</p><p>He couldn’t sleep. When he slept Tony would see the corpse of Peter Parker staring up at him. Wanting to know why he never found him. Why he never came to his rescue. Why he gave up.</p><p>The only time Tony would eat was when Rhodey or Pepper physically forced him to. Holding him in place until he managed to force down whatever they placed in front of him. Tony couldn’t taste anything. It all tasted dry and bland to him.</p><p>He would spend hours staring at a bottle of whiskey. The only thing stopping him from downing the full bottle being thoughts of what Peter would say. And if they got a location, he knew he had to be sober enough to help out the team. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he was drunk when the call came in to suit up for Peter’s rescue.</p><p>The man staring back at him in the mirror was someone who was losing hope. Heavy, dark bags under his eyes displayed clearly his lack of sleep. His face was gaunt and pale. Too little sun and not enough food over the past month. His once pristine facial hair was scruffy. His wild eyes completing the look of a man who had lost everything.</p><p>Since Natasha had worked out that the disappearances were likely part of a human trafficking ring, they had been doing regular undercover missions to these human auctions. It was sickening when he realised just how many where happening in New York alone. It was terrifying to know they had been happening right under their noses without his knowledge.</p><p>Natasha had some questionable underground contacts that had been able to get them the details of these events and get them access. The auctions never announced ahead of time who would be up for sale, so the team just collectively crossed their fingers that Peter would be there.</p><p>In the past month the Avengers, along with some SHIELD agents, had infiltrated 5 auctions. They had rescued around 100 kids.</p><p>Peter Parker wasn’t one of them.</p><p>The worst part of their plan was that they couldn’t let word out that they were infiltrating these auctions. They couldn’t stop the ring leaders. Instead, they would go in undercover and <em>bid</em> on these people. Once they received their <em>slave</em> they would escort the person outside and into one of their cars, being careful to keep up the appearance of someone sleazy enough to buy another human being in the first place, before driving a long winded route to the compound. Once there the kids were given a safe place to stay while one of the SHIELD teams would contact any relatives and organise to get them home.</p><p>Tony knew that they were doing good work. That every child freed from this horrendous system was a positive. But the weight in his chest increased every time they left one of these events without seeing <em>his </em>kid.</p><p>He wasn’t sure he could take anymore.</p><p>It hurt too much.</p><p>Before each new auction he would get his hopes up. Praying that this was the one. But so far, luck hadn’t been on their side.</p><p>What if Peter wasn’t even at one of these auctions?</p><p>What if they only wanted him because he was Spider-Man and had been getting too close to the truth?</p><p>Oh God. What if they were torturing him?</p><p>Or what if… what if he was already dead?</p><p>His hand shot to his mouth as he choked back a sob at that thought. He couldn’t afford to think like that. Not today.</p><p>A knock at his bedroom door pulled him out of his downwards spiral.</p><p>Sniffing, he ran a hand over his tired face.</p><p>“Come in,” he yelled as he turned away from the mirror.</p><p>Natasha entered the room, walking over and coming to a stop just outside the bathroom door. She was dressed in a smart burgundy power suit, a black wig leaving curls hanging over her shoulders. Dressed ready for today’s mission. Her eyes calculating as she analysed Tony. He felt himself shrinking under her gaze.</p><p>“You ready?”</p><p>Glancing back at the mirror, Tony scanned over his own suit. It was cheaper than anything he would normally wear but it fit the sleazy slave owner vibe he was going for. Grabbing a fedora off the counter, because what sleazy outfit wouldn’t be complete without a fedora, he turned to nod at the spy.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m ready,” he sighed. There was no point trying to fake any enthusiasm around Nat. She could always tell when he wasn’t being genuine anyway.</p><p>“Hey,” her eyes softened as she met his own, “I know it’s hard, but we can’t give up hope. We’re going to find him.”</p><p>Swallowing around a lump in his throat, he couldn’t stop himself from voicing his fears, “But what if we’re too late? God Nat, you’ve seen some of them that have come out. They’re broken shells of who they were. What if they’re torturing him? What if they-“</p><p>“Tony,” she placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing gently to help ground him, “he’s a strong kid, okay? This sucks. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t. But <em>when</em> we find him, because we will, we are all going to be there for him. And don’t pretend that you don’t already have a list of therapists lined up that could work with him,” she paused raising an eyebrow at him, “the point is, we will find him and help him through this. But he can’t afford for us to just give up. We need to keep going until we find him and bring him home. This is just the start of that journey.”</p><p>Nodding gently at her words, he found himself blinking back tears. Gripping on to one of Nat’s hands where it still rested on his shoulder, he sucked in a deep breath to collect himself.</p><p>“You’re right,” he breathed. “We’re going to find him. We should, em, we should get going I guess.”</p><p>“That’s what I had been coming to tell you,” she gave him a small smile, “the others have all left on their own routes. So it’s about time we get moving as well. Don’t want to be late.”</p><p>“Don’t wanna keep the human traffickers waiting. How rude of us,” he rolled his eyes as he released a breath. Rolling his shoulders, he walked past Natasha towards the bedroom door, “Let’s do this.”</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>It had been a little over an hours drive to get to the massive facility that today’s auction was taking place in. It was easily the same size as the compound. Just used for completely different reasons.</p><p>Today’s auction had a long queue to get through security. An impressive security check that included full body scanners and pat downs. Weapons were not allowed into the auction room, so guns had to be left with the security personal. Checked in like you would a coat.</p><p>Luckily the team always prepared for these situations and were all concealing their own weapons made of polymers that wouldn’t show up on the scans or be detected by metal detectors. It meant they weren’t as armed as they’d like to be, but it was still better than nothing. His hand automatically shifted to grip his watch that was concealing one of his gauntlets, feeling reassured by the familiar weight on his wrist.</p><p>The auction room itself was probably the largest one he had seen so far. A big empty room, that could comfortable hold about 250 people. Chairs were scattered around all facing a large stage on the far wall. A door to the back of the stage was where he imagined the kids were being held. A small catwalk section protruded from the stage out into the audience, which he assumed would be used for displaying the kids. And there was a wooden podium placed in the centre of the main section of the stage. Tony assumed that would be where the sick son-of-a-bitch who was running this thing would stand.</p><p>His eyes scanned the crowd from behind his sunglasses. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces. They were slowly building a list of all the lowlifes they spotted at these auctions. Ready to take them down once it was all over. Scattered amongst the crowd he spotted the other Avengers, all undercover, and some SHIELD agents that he recognised from having seen around the compound.</p><p>Tony met Natasha’s eyes for a brief second and quickly looked away. In here, they didn’t know each other.</p><p>The plan was the same as always. Each of them would take turns bidding on kids. They had unlimited funds so they could go as high as necessary to ensure that they won. They would keep going until the auction had finished before they would go and collect their <em>prizes.</em> That part never failed to make Tony’s skin crawl. The kids were always terrified but scarily obedient. Not making a sound apart from the occasional whimper as they tried to stifle their sobs. Some of the kids had scars littering their bodies. Showing signs of the past tortures they had endured. Others would flinch whenever someone would approach. Whereas others would have bruises littering their hips. He didn’t like to think about how those came about.</p><p>Situating himself in a spot near the end of the catwalk, he glanced down at his watch. The auction was due to start anytime now. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the sights he would be faced with. It never got easier. Seeing kids beaten down and terrified. But he had to hold it together. Act like this was what he wanted. He deliberately slowed his breathing, trying to push the hope down that he would see Peter. It would only hurt him more in the long run.</p><p>The door at the back of the stage opened and in walked an average looking man in a sharp three-piece suit. He sent a shark-like grin to the audience of bidders, before making his way to the podium.</p><p>“Welcome ladies and gentlemen, may I just say how honoured I am that you have chosen our fine establishment as the source of your future pleasures. We have a number of special offerings for you today. All have, of course, been trained to the highest standards, but we have some fresh blooded virgins on offer today and if you can believe it,” he paused for dramatic effect, “we even have some <em>enhanced </em>individuals. Which you can do with as you will.” The man sent a wink to the crowd as murmuring started to spread, before the man got everyone’s attention again continuing with his speech.</p><p>But Tony couldn’t hear a word the man said. This was the first auction they had been at that advertised enhanced individuals. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, as thoughts started flying through his head. This could be it.</p><p>An auction with enhanced individuals.</p><p>Peter was here. He had to be. And he was going to get him back.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Once the man in the suit had left, going through the door into a noisy room full of people, the guards started ushering everyone into a line. Peter stumbled along, struggling to keep his balance with his hands still chained behind his back, until he was placed at the end of the long line next to a girl who looked to be a couple years older than himself, with a similar metal band around her upper arm.</p><p>Unlike him, she hadn’t been given any underwear and he could tell she was terrified. Her desperate eyes scanning the room for a way out. As much as Peter hated it, he found himself doing the same thing. He wasn’t stupid. These men wanted to sell them on, so he figured that that was what was happening. But if he were sold on, how would the Avengers find him? Mr Stark wouldn’t know where he went after here. He doubts these sorts of men worried about keeping their paperwork in order. They seemed far too organised to leave paper trails lying around the place.</p><p>But just like he had for the past month, he resigned himself to his fate. There wasn’t a way out. He was chained and weak, he hadn’t even had any breakfast that morning. No match against all these men with guns. Besides the part he was too ashamed to admit out loud, was that he was too scared to disobey their orders. Every time he so much as thought about going against what they told him to do, he would feel the phantom pain of his back being torn to pieces all over again.</p><p>So instead of attempting an escape, he stood in line quietly. Swallowing around the lump in his throat. If this was going to happen regardless, he sure as hell didn’t want to go out there crying. He didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing him break.</p><p>A few minutes after the man in charge had left the room, they took out the first person. After that every 5-10 minutes the queue would slowly shuffle forward. The kids that left never came back in. As they inched closer to the door, he noticed the girl in front of him shoulders start to shake with sobs.</p><p>He might be useless right now, but he still wanted to offer some sort of comfort. It felt wrong to ignore her when she was so nearby. Sliding closer to her, he turned and stretched his hands out until he was able to hold her hand. Offering her a weak smile when she glanced back at him. He received a watery smile in return. As he started to rub soothing circles into her hand, her sobs slowly died down. It was nice. This was the first soothing touch he had received in a month. Since he had been taken it was either the doctor or the guards touching him. None of which was gentle.</p><p>The girl was only two people away from the front of the line when a guard shouted, “No touching.”</p><p>They dropped hands immediately. Peter taking half a step backwards to make sure they had distanced themselves enough not to be punished.</p><p>When the girl was taken through the door, Peter was left alone with the guards. For the first time in a while, he let his gaze scan his surroundings. Immediately regretting it when he saw a couple of the guards staring at him. Making him realise just how vulnerable he was. He ducked his head, curling into himself as much as possible as he stood waiting by the door.</p><p>He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. His breaths increasing as he thought about what was waiting for him on the other side of the door.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>This was by far the worst auction they had infiltrated yet. During the others, the kids had been presented in a set of rags, he assumed they were the remains of whatever clothes they had been kidnapped in. But this one. God, this one the kids outfits demonstrated whether they were virgins or not. If they were wearing white underwear then they hadn’t been touched, signalling their ‘purity’, but if they were naked then some sick fuck had already… Ugh, just the thought made him feel sick.</p><p>They were almost done, and he hadn’t seen Peter yet.</p><p>There was currently a naked girl up on the stage, maybe 19 or 20 years old. She was terrified. She was standing about 10 feet in front of Tony and he could see her shaking like a leaf, tears streaming down her face. Apparently, she was enhanced. The man in charge explained that the metal band she was sporting on her arm, contained a weeks’ worth of drugs that would keep her powers in check if you didn’t want to deal with them. But when the drugs aren’t in her system, she is capable of moving objects with her mind, similar to the Scarlet Witch.</p><p>He could see Wanda in the far corner of the room twitching at that, as voices grew in volume around the room as interest in the young girl picked up.</p><p>The bidding started a lot higher for this girl than any of the others, and it lasted longer as well. More people were interested in owning an enhanced girl. Wanting to try anything that they could to get their hands on her. After more than 15 minutes of bids flying back and forth across the room, he noted that Wanda had managed to secure the girl. Giving her details to one of the men on the floor working at the auction. The girl was escorted down off the stage and out to the waiting room, to be collected after the auction was over. He watched as Wanda and Vision, followed them out the main room. He imagined Wanda wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and getting the girl out was a good excuse.</p><p>Tony’s heart was in his throat as he turned his attention back to the man. He said the next kid was going to be the last one for the day. He prayed to every deity he knew of that Peter was about to be brought in through that door.</p><p>He didn’t think his heart could take it if he had to leave without his kid. Not again.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter had been standing in the room for over 20 minutes after the girl had been taken through. None of the others had taken this long. He wondered if there was something wrong.</p><p>Awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot, he deliberately avoided gazing in the guards’ direction again. They made him feel dirty.</p><p>In all honesty, he just wanted Mr Stark. The man always knew what to do. Would make him feel safe.</p><p>Eventually the door was opened and a guard on the other side grabbed his arm, pulling him out onto what appeared to be a stage. The sight and sound of so many people at once was startling after having so little input over of the past month. Even in the previous room when it had been full, they had all been silent. Here there were murmurs spreading amongst the crowd like wildfire.</p><p>He distantly heard the man wearing the suit telling them all his name and the stats the doctor had discovered. What he could lift while on the drugs etc. He felt a blush spread across his face and chest when the man mentioned to the crowd that he was a virgin in all respects.</p><p>He was being forcibly dragged along a catwalk out into the throng of the crowd when he heard the name Spider-Man being mentioned. Causing his head to snap up, turning to face the man. The crowd erupted into noise, shuffling closer to the stage to get a closer look.</p><p>Shifting to try and shake off the guard’s grasp, he gasped when the guard just tightened his grip, holding up the remote threateningly. Daring Peter to try anything.</p><p>Breathing heavily, Peter squeezed his eyes shut tilting his head down towards his feet. When the guard moved, making him continue his walking, he quickly opened his eyes to prevent himself from falling in front of so many people. This was humiliating enough without falling on his face. Between his hunger and fear, his legs were shaking as he walked. It wouldn’t take much for him to trip.</p><p>Once they reached the end of the catwalk, they paused. As he stood, Peter couldn’t stop himself from nervously glancing around the room.</p><p>His brow furrowed in confusion when he saw a tall blonde man in the back with sunglasses, he looked uncannily similar to Steve. Huh, trust Steve Rogers to have a doppelganger who is the complete opposite to him in morals. As his gaze continued to drift, he became more confused when he also saw a woman with black hair who looked remarkably similar to Natasha. Darting his eyes around the room, he realised that he recognised several more faces. Sam, Clint, Bucky, Rhodey and even some agents that he had seen around the compound before. There’s no way that it could be a coincidence, right?</p><p>Were they actually here to save him?!</p><p>His chest heaved as he desperately scanned the crowds for the face he most wanted to see. He gasped when his eyes met a familiar pair of brown eyes not even 10 feet ahead of him. Those eyes provided so much love and safety, that Peter felt his feet stick to the ground as he took them in.</p><p>He barely noticed that the guard was trying to drag him back down towards the main stage again, as he stood locking eyes with his mentor.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>He was here. His kid was so close, yet so far.</p><p>Tony had been trying to push his way forward through the crowd, when he noticed the kids eyes darting around the room. He had to make sure he saw him.</p><p>And then he did. His honey eyes filled with such fear, but yet still so trusting. Tony tried to convey as much love as he could through his look. He couldn’t risk blowing it when they were this close.</p><p>The guard that was escorting Peter was obviously trying to get him to move back down the catwalk, but the kid was oblivious as he stood staring at Tony. He could see the guard getting angry as he hissed something too quiet for him to hear from where he stood in the crowd.</p><p>The guard had a small black thing in his hand. Tony was trying to figure out what it was when the guard suddenly hit a button, and Peter fell to his knees screaming in agony.</p><p>The crowd started shifting for better views as his kid writhed in pain on the ground. Forgetting all about the mission, and keeping a level head, Tony found himself pushing people out of his way and ran towards the stage.</p><p>Activating his gauntlet, he leapt up onto the stage, grabbing the remote out of the guard’s hand and sending the man flying through the air with a repulsor blast to his chest.</p><p>Peter had stopped screaming from where he lay beneath him, as he cradled the boys cheek in his hand, encouraging him to look up. Once the boy was squinting up at him, he allowed himself a small smile. This was really happening.</p><p>“Hey kid, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: canon-typical violence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter wasn’t sure what was real anymore. He had been staring into the eyes of his mentor, soaking up all the warmth and safety that was conveyed in the mans look before he was suddenly writhing in pain of the floor. He could feel the waves of electricity flowing from the band on his arm. Causing his muscles to lock in place. He distantly heard himself screaming but couldn’t concentrate on anything else. The pain was overwhelming. It was taking all his effort to stay conscious.</p><p>When the pain eventually stopped, he focused on gulping in breaths from his position on the floor. Eyes squeezed shut against the extra input in the room.</p><p>He kept his eyes shut when he heard someone bending down beside him, not wanting to risk looking a guard in the eyes by accident. But when a gentle, calloused hand rested on his cheek, he couldn’t help himself from sneaking a look. He was met with the sight of his mentors relieved face. His mentor smiling was the best sight he had seen since before he was taken. Allowing himself a small, relieved breath, he gave his mentor a slightly watery smile as he felt his eyes tearing up.</p><p>His mentor spoke, but he couldn’t pick out the individual words. He just enjoyed being able to hear the mans voice again.</p><p>“Mis’ser S’ark,” he croaked. Just those two words were hurting his throat. He must have been screaming louder than he thought he had. Shifting forward slightly, he moved to rest his head against his mentors knee. Trying to soak up as much comfort as he could. It was the best he could do with his arms bound behind him.</p><p>Mr Stark obviously picked up on what he was trying to do, as he started to run a hand through Peters hair.</p><p>Closing his eyes in contentment, he allowed himself to relax into the touch for a couple seconds before the sounds of shouting around the room filtered to his ears. Bursting the bubble that had formed around the two of them.</p><p>Snapping his eyes open, he raised his head from where it was resting on Mr Starks knee to see guards swarming the room. Weapons out and aiming at the crowd. In his periphery he could see the various Avengers and SHIELD agents getting into position. Weapons appearing out of seemingly nowhere.</p><p>The repulsor firing over his shoulder drew his panicked gaze to Mr Stark, as the man fought off approaching guards. His mentor shifted his grip on Peter, to guide him behind his back. Protecting him from the guards fire.</p><p>Peter’s heart was beating wildly in his chest. This was fine. The Avengers dealt with this sort of thing all the time. They would be done in no time and he would be on his way home.</p><p>He cried out when someone grabbed his ankle from where it was sitting near the edge of the catwalk but felt himself relax slightly when he was met with the warm, brown eyes off Bucky. At the mans gesture, he shuffled forward until Bucky could pick him up in a bridal carry and start running for the door. Trying to ignore his embarrassment about the current events, he buried his head against Bucky’s chest.</p><p>The jerky movements of the man running was pulling on his shoulders from where his arms were still bound behind him, but he tried his best to ignore it. Instead, he focused on keeping his breathing even. He couldn’t have a panic attack right now. They might need his help. He was supposed to be Spider-Man after all.</p><p>“I’ve got you kid,” the man breathed down at him. “Shit.” Gripping him tighter before Peter felt them flying through the air.</p><p>With a yell, they both toppled to the ground. Peter rolling out of Bucky’s arms. Shakily pushing himself to his feet, he staggered over to the man who was laying slumped against the wall. Scanning the man for injuries, Peter felt himself swallowing back bile when he saw the bullet wound in the mans side. Eyes wide, he stared at the wound, wondering how on earth he was supposed to help without his hands.</p><p>Panicking, he glanced around the room, but saw that everyone else was busy. He knew he had to get pressure on the wound to try and stop the bleeding. Bucky’s enhanced healing should kick in soon, but they had to be careful about how much blood he lost before then. Letting out a shaky breath, he lowered himself to the ground and pressed on the wound with his feet. Wincing when he felt the blood seeping over his soles, reminding him a little too much of his punishments.</p><p>After a couple more seconds, Bucky slowly came to. Groaning in pain and moving to bat away his feet. Quickly becoming aware of his surroundings, the soldier stood gingerly and grabbed Peters arms dragging him towards the exit. One hand staying firmly pressed against his bleeding side.</p><p>“C’mon kid, you need to get out of here.”</p><p>Nodding silently, he tried his best to keep up with the mans brisk pace. His legs still felt like jelly and his soles were sliding on the floor now that they were coated in blood. Leaving a trail behind them. If it weren’t for Bucky’s grip on his arm, he would have faceplanted it several times already.</p><p>Just as they were approaching the door, a new wave of guards swarmed in. All armed with guns aimed directly at Bucky and Peter. He could see the ex-assassins eyes scanning the area for an escape plan and coming up short.</p><p>The mans hand reflexively tightened around Peters arm, before shoving him behind him and backing up against a wall. Bucky using his own body to block him from sight. Bucky was broad enough that Peter couldn’t see around him to what was happening. But he knew it wasn’t good. They were outnumbered.</p><p>From his glances around the room, he knew that the guards were slowly being taken out of the equation as he saw bodies scatter the floor, but the Avengers were struggling. Peter knew that this must be a big facility, he had no clue how many more guards were coming as back-up. And it didn’t look like the Avengers were armed with their usual arsenals either.</p><p>He watched as Bucky tapped his ear, presumedly his comm, before speaking quickly, “Guys I need backup <em>now</em>. We’ve not made it to the exit yet. I can’t hold them all off, kids not safe,” he broke off with a grunt as the guards started attacking.</p><p>A crackle of electricity caused Peter to freeze. An automatic reaction to being electrocuted so often. But this time he didn’t feel any pain.</p><p>Instead, he watched as Bucky dropped to the floor. Twitching. Even through the pain, he was trying to protect Peter. Shifting his body to block Peter in, even as the man cried out in pain.</p><p>“Bucky,” he breathed. Leaning forward trying to think of anything he could do to help. Buckys gaze slowly slid over to him, before his eyes widened in fear, staring at something over Peters shoulder, “Bucky?” Peter can’t remember ever seeing the man afraid before. It caused his own blood to turn to ice thinking what could have caused that look of raw emotion.</p><p>Allowing his gaze to dart from Bucky to behind him, Peter yelled out when he saw the guards approaching him. Eyes scanning the room, he noted that nobody was close enough to stop them. They were all caught up in their own mini battles.</p><p>Bucky’s twitching arm shoved him in the opposite direction, “R-run,” he rasped.</p><p>Nodding through his own tears, he pushed himself up onto his legs, and ran as fast as he could away from the men, back towards the middle of the room. Feet slipping as his tacky, blood coated feet slapped against the tiles. As his eyes darted around for an escape route, he caught the desperate eyes of his mentor across the room with half an Iron Man suit on. He saw the exact moment his mentor realised what was happening. His entire face turned white, as he stared at him with haunted eyes. “PETER!” the man yelled across the room, as he started flying towards him.</p><p>But before he had made it more than a couple metres, his mentor was sent flying through the air by a shockwave. Leaving him lying unmoving on the tiles. “MR STARK” he screamed; voice hoarse over the noise in the room but the man didn’t move.</p><p>He felt Natasha’s gaze on him, as he scanned the room desperately for someone that could help. His mentor or himself, he wasn’t entirely sure at the moment.</p><p>Before he could think any more about it the guards behind caught up with him and tackled him to the ground. His head bouncing off the hard tile below him before everything went black.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Natasha had heard Buckys call for help, but she was so tied down in her corner with the guards that just kept on pouring in that she couldn’t move to get to him. She watched from a distance as he was shocked until he was lying twitching on the ground, sending Peter running for safety.</p><p>She was fly-kicking one of the guards into another when she saw Tony shot down from where he had been trying to get to the kid.</p><p>And she had stood frozen for a half second, when she saw the kid get tackled from behind. His terrified eyes searching the room for an escape. Their gazes had met for a split second before he went down, and she had read the fear in them.</p><p>Leaping over the bodies of some of the guards, she shot at the others coming towards her as she sprinted towards Peter. Watching as his unconscious body was lifted by one of the guards dragging him towards the exit.</p><p>She was so close, not even 5 feet away from him when something hit the back of her head causing her stumble, falling to the ground.</p><p>She lay for a couple of seconds, waiting for her sight to return, before pushing up to her feet and staggering after them. She couldn’t let a concussion stop her now.</p><p>She had only just made it out of the facility, eyes whipping around the grounds working out where they would have gone. There were numerous exit strategies these guys could be using. She didn’t know if they would take a car, van or something even harder to track. The whirring sound of rotor blades caught her attention, as a gust of wind threatened to knock her off balance. She spotted Peters face pressed against the window of a helicopter a couple of feet of the ground. She ran towards it as fast as she could but was too slow.</p><p>Dropping to her knees she choked on a silent sob as they rose out of her reach.</p><p>They’d escaped.</p><p>They had had Peter in their arms, and they got away with him.</p><p>Raising a shaky hand to her ear, she activated her comm. Taking a deep breath she breathed the words, “He’s gone.”</p><p>Clamping a hand over her mouth, she felt tears stinging her eyes. She couldn’t say any more than that.</p><p>The others voices filtered into her ears but she couldn’t focus on the words. Their words faded into the back of her mind as tears streamed down her face.</p><p>She had been holding it together for over a month now. Encouraging them all to stick to the plan. Focus on the mission at hand. Focus on the knowledge that they were going to get him back. And they almost had him.</p><p>But now.</p><p>Now, these scumbags knew the Avengers were looking for him. They would be so much more careful. Increasing their security measures. They’d be hiding underground. If they thought it was hard to find them before, she knew it would be damn well near impossible to track them now.</p><p>She allowed herself a minute to breakdown as she watched the helicopter disappear from sight before she stood back up.</p><p>Peter might not be coming home with them today. But there was a whole building full of guards that she was going to ensure wouldn’t be going home either. Ever.</p><p>This was what she was good at. Rolling her shoulders, she re-entered the building to put her Red Room training to work.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry, not sorry.....</p><p>Please don't hate me!</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you're not too mad at me after the last chapter...</p><p>Don't think there any trigger warnings for this chapter? But if I miss any just let me know!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You’d think that Tony would be used to waking up in unfamiliar surroundings after his playboy years, but it never got any easier. Especially when he had a killer hangover. He didn’t even remember drinking.</p><p>Over the ringing in his ears, he could hear fuzzy voices nearby. Low and panicked. The pounding in his head prevented him from focussing too hard on the words being exchanged, but he was sure he recognised the voices. He just couldn’t put his finger on who they were.</p><p>Squinting one eye open he winced at the light, waiting for his sight to adjust. He was in what looked like a warehouse. A sharp shooting pain shot through his head when he tried to sit up from his position on the floor causing him to gasp.</p><p>The other voices in the room stopped and he could hear footsteps approaching. Raising his hands in self-defence he forced both eyes open in preparation for whatever was coming. Happy had always hammered home the importance of being able to defend himself. He was mildly surprised to see his hands wrapped in red and gold metal gloves.</p><p>Before he could think about it any further a face appeared above him. A dark-brown man, maybe 6’2’’ with a buzzcut, in his late 30s. He couldn’t pinpoint a name, but he was sure he knew him. The man brought images of a large bird of prey to his mind. Odd.</p><p>“Hey Stark,” the man spoke softly, “take it easy, you took quite a hit.”</p><p>Furrowing his brow in confusion, his eyes danced from the man in front of him to the group of 5 standing behind. They were all watching him with sad, wary eyes. He could feel the sympathy oozing off of them. Could see the tears in the groups eyes. The way he was being treated like a wounded animal that was either going to flee or attack.</p><p>It put him on edge trying to work out the reasoning behind the looks.</p><p>Planting his hands on the floor beneath him, he pushed to sit up straighter against the wall behind him, only requiring a little assistance from the man beside him. Once his eyes took in the rest of the room it all came flooding back to him.</p><p>Peters kidnapping.</p><p>The Auction.</p><p><em>Finally </em>being able to hold his kid again. God, the boy had been so scared.</p><p>The fight that broke out.</p><p>Passing the boy over to Bucky when Tony couldn’t get him out himself.</p><p>Getting lost in the battle as the guards kept arriving in seemingly endless numbers.</p><p>Bucky calling for help.</p><p>Peters panicked gaze meeting his own from across the room as he ran away from the guards, hands still cuffed behind his back, as Bucky lay twitching on the floor.</p><p>The guards closing the distance between themselves and Peter, as Tony sprinted forward to get to him.</p><p>The pain as something unseen hit his side.</p><p>Then blackness.</p><p>Whatever hit him must have knocked him out. So he didn’t have a hangover. It was a concussion. Like that was so much better. At least it wasn’t self-inflicted he supposed. Pepper wouldn’t be able to complain when they got back later. Not that he was going to let on he was in pain. His main focus would be on his kid. He would be needing a full check-up in the medbay and Tony planned on sitting by his side the entire time. The kid would be in his 20’s before he’d let him out of his sight again.</p><p>On that note, where was Peter?</p><p>Tony’s eyes started desperately searching the room for Peter’s bambi eyes. He could feel his heart racing in his chest the longer he went without seeing them. When the tears forming in his eyes blurred his vision too much to continue his search, he brought his gaze back to Sam who was still perched beside him. He could tell the man was using his medic training to decide if Tony would be safe to move or not, but honestly, Tony couldn’t care less right now.</p><p>Where was his kid? He had held him in his arms not long ago.</p><p>He opened his mouth to ask that exact question, but no sound came out. Swallowing harshly around the dryness in his throat, he tried again, ignoring the pain pounding in his head. Croaking out a single word, “Peter?”</p><p>The moment Sam met his eyes Tony knew what he was going to say. Shaking his head despite the way it made nausea rise in his throat, he could barely hear Sam’s response.</p><p>“I-I’m so sorry Tony. They, em, they got him. Took off about half an hour ago and we-,” Sam cut off pinching the bridge of his nose. Sniffing, the man glanced behind him, silently asking for someone else to continue.</p><p>When Tony followed his gaze, he spotted Natasha shifting her weight between her feet, methodically wiping blood off her knives. Without taking her eyes away from her task, she followed on from where Sam left off, “And we have no idea where they are taking him. The cats out of the bag. They know that the Avengers are hunting them down so its unlikely they will take him to another auction, at least just yet anyway. But it means we don’t know what they will be doing. I’ve taken copies of all their servers and we have a couple of the higher ups we can take in for some <em>interrogations</em> but it might take some time,” her gaze shifted to the three unconscious bodies of the guards slumped against the far wall, “We will find him though. I promise you that.”</p><p>At some point while Natasha had been talking, tears had started silently running down his cheeks. Deactivating his gauntlets, he quickly wiped them away before realising it was pointless. The tears were falling quicker than he could wipe them.</p><p>Sucking in a deep breath, his gaze shifted to Steve and Bucky who were huddled together. Bucky seemed to be leaning heavily on the captain, a haunted look in his eyes. The soldier had taken a number of hits trying to get Peter out. He could see the blood staining the mans shirt, likely a bullet wound given the hole in the material. The whole team seemed to be sporting various degrees of injuries. They hadn’t been prepared for the fight. Hadn’t had the weapons required, and the guards were well trained.</p><p>Tony knew that he should ask about the other kids. There had been about 30 of them all together. Kids that they were going to save. But all he could see was Peters face as he ran towards him. Terrified as the guards chased him. The images replaying over and over in his head.</p><p>Staring at Steve with pain filled eyes, the man seemed to know what was going on in his head and caught him up with what had happened.</p><p>Steve readjusted his grip around Bucky’s waist before awkwardly clearing his throat. “Wanda and Vision left as soon as everything went south to get the other kids out of here. They made it to the quinjet and sent word that they arrived at the compound not long ago. The kids all seem to be physically ok. Nothing that a couple days in the medbay won’t sort out. Mentally, it’s a whole other can of worms but they will be ok. The SHIELD agents are scattered. Some left in the cars following some of the other bidders to keep covers whereas others are scouring through the facility collecting evidence and the alien weaponry. They might find something that could lead us to a secondary location. We’re just waiting for the quinjet to return now and then we will head back and plan our next moves.”</p><p>Natasha nodded, while she slid her newly cleaned knives into their holders, “Turns out this whole operation was run by a couple of ex-HYDRA agents. They discovered that human trafficking was more profitable than the kidnapping they had been doing for HYDRA, so decided to switch career. They had access to the alien weaponry through SHIELD way back when and took it with them, even managed to manufacture some more. They had enough tech and training to avoid detection and you know the missing teens personal devices that where always found a block away?” she huffed a humourless laugh, “they had a particle transporter, another thing stolen from inside SHIELD that had a radius of about a block. All they had to do was point it at the devices and they would be transported roughly a block away. No evidence left because they didn’t even need to touch it.”</p><p>“They really went all ‘Beam me up Scotty’ on us,” Clint chimed in. Despite his upbeat words, Tony could read the anger and guilt rolling off of the archer.</p><p>“Other than the three guards we’re going to interrogate, there aren’t any men left breathing in this facility,” Natasha sent him a calculated gaze, “Obviously, some of the guards got away and we’re not stupid enough to think that their operation was confined to only this facility, but I’m sure we can get the men to talk or the Agents will find something here. We’ll find him Tony.”</p><p>Tony’s watery gaze fell to his lap where his hands were resting. Not even an hour before, his kid had been lying in them. He had been running his hands through his kids hair and whispering sweet reassurances into his ear. Promising him it would be ok. And the kid. God, the kid had looked at him with such unconditional trust in his eyes.</p><p>And that thought broke him. He had failed his kid. Not even for the first time.</p><p>Tony had said earlier that day, that not finding the kid today would break him.</p><p>He was wrong.</p><p>Not finding him at this auction would have sucked. But he would have been able to keep an eye out for the next one. Kept his spirits up knowing that he wouldn’t rest until his kid was safe. But that’s not what happened.</p><p>What was going to break him.</p><p>What<em> had already </em>broken him. Was finding him and letting him be taken again.</p><p>And now after a whole month, they were back to square one.</p><p>He’d failed his kid.</p><p>Dropping his head into his raised hands, he let out his first full sob in over a month. Once that first anguished cry slipped past his lips, he was helpless to stop the rest. He didn’t care that he was crying like a baby in front of the other Avengers. In front of his teammates. He didn’t care that Stark men were supposed to be made of Iron. He’d failed the best thing to ever happen to him. He’d let down his kid.</p><p>As his body shook with pain and loss, his only thoughts were off Peter. <em>I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. </em>Playing on an endless loop. Apologising for all the ways he had failed him.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>The sounds of a whispered conversation floated into Peters consciousness as he lay on something uncomfortable. Or was it that he was uncomfortable while lying on something?</p><p>His shoulders ached. When he tried to bring his hands round in front of him to alleviate the pressure, he found that his wrists were in fact chained together behind his back.</p><p>His head felt fuzzy and his legs felt like they were cramping. Probably having been stuck in the one position for an extended period of time.</p><p>There was a steady rumbling coming from underneath him and he could feel himself being jostled by something moving. From what he could hear, and the smell of gas, he assumed he was in some form of moving vehicle. Maybe a car since he could hear what sounded like a freeway outside.</p><p>Keeping his eyes shut, he tried to move as little as possible. The voices coming from in front of him seemed oblivious to his rising consciousness and he planned to keep it that way.</p><p>Clint had told him a while ago that if he was ever captured the best idea was to gather as much information as he could before letting anyone know he was awake. Once they knew that, his focus would have to be split between the captors and his surroundings. Before they knew that he was awake, he should take in as much as he could to help plan an escape. They might let something slip that could prove useful if they didn’t think he could hear them.</p><p>He remembered being held by the human traffickers. The ones that had been behind all the disappearances. They had been holding an auction to sell the kids. The memory of the auction caused a shiver to course through his body. Holding his breath, he listened to the voices which continued without pause, obviously not noticing his movement.</p><p>The Avengers had been there.</p><p>Mr Stark had held him whispering about how everything was going to be ok. But then he had been passed onto Bucky who had lifted him like he weighed nothing and had started running for the exit.</p><p>Images flashed in his mind of Bucky getting shot and then later writhing in pain on the floor as he was tased. He remembered his thoughts going too fast for him to think straight, running towards his mentor across the room. Helpless to watch as the man was shot down. Hitting a wall and lying stock still. Not moving. He hadn’t even had the full suit on, just the repulsors. Enough for his mentor to fight and fly, but not offering the man any protection. He had cast his eyes around for help. He hadn’t been sure whether he wanted someone to run towards him or Mr Stark. But in the end, it hadn’t mattered. Something solid hit the back of his head and then he had been falling forwards. He doesn’t remember anything after landing on the ground.</p><p>Going by his current position, he assumed that the guards must have him again. Trying to control his breathing, his thoughts flew back to the Avengers. They wouldn’t have let him be taken without a fight. At least, he doesn’t think they would have.</p><p>So, if these guys had managed to take him it meant one of two things.</p><p>The first being that the Avengers weren’t in a position to fight back. They must have been badly injured or even… No, he couldn’t think like that. Mr Stark probably just hit his head and had a concussion. There’s no way that he could be… He just couldn’t.</p><p>Which left the other option. That these guys were just better than the Avengers. They had managed to outsmart them and make a run for it. Hiding their tracks enough that they couldn’t be followed. And if that was the case, then how was Peter supposed to get himself out of this? If the past month had taught him anything, it was that he wasn’t capable of escaping by himself. He needed help. But the Avengers had shown up and yet he was still here.</p><p>Ignoring the tears forming behind his closed lids, he refocused his attention on his surroundings. He couldn’t afford to freak out yet. He was almost positive he was in the backseat of a car. His arms were still bound and going by the goosebumps covering his skin he was still dressed in just the small pair of boxer-briefs they had given him earlier that day. Or was it yesterday? He had no way of telling how long he had been out for.</p><p>There were two male voices coming from what he assumed was the front seat of the car. They sounded slightly familiar. Probably guards from the place that had been holding him. Two of the men that usually dealt with moving him around the place. The two men had been talking the whole time, but at the sound of a familiar name Peter found himself tuning into their conversation.</p><p>“…Stark and his merry band managed to find us. Manheimer swore that it was the securest auction in the state, and they managed to infiltrate it without anybody noticing.”</p><p>“I get it man, but he did take a risk taking Spider-Man. I mean of course they would come after one of their own.”</p><p>“Yeah, but the stupid brat had been getting too close to the truth. He would have blown the whole operation if we didn’t step in.”</p><p>“Hmm,” one of the men hummed non-committedly. Peter focused on keeping his face relaxed and breathing regular as he felt someone’s eyes on him. “Are we sure they aren’t going to be tracking us right now? Might be a bit of a risk keeping him alive.”</p><p>“Possibly,” the other replied. Peter could hear the movement of fabric suggesting he was shrugging his shoulders, “but you heard the boss. Says we should take him to the safe house and have some<em> fun</em> with him till the heat dies down and we can try again.”</p><p>“I don’t think they’re likely to just give up though. Especially now they’ve seen him.”</p><p>“True, but they’ll stop looking once they think he’s dead. Manheimer is already looking into it. He thinks that Doc Steele managed to store enough samples off base and that we can use them to manufacture a believable crime scene. Once they think he’s dead they’ll fall apart blaming each other and we can move him.”</p><p>“You make it sound so simple Gary.”</p><p>The man, Gary, snorted. “Hey, did you catch the hawks game...”</p><p>As the men switched easily from talking about kidnapping and faking the murder of a teenager to talking about sports Peter let his thoughts drift. The men had practically confirmed that the Avengers had survived – thank God - but that they had managed to outwit them. His chances of being rescued were dwindling.</p><p>Peter knew that if the Avengers were led to believe he was dead, that they would hunt down whoever did it. They’d leave no stone unturned till they had their revenge. But he also had no doubts that these men would lead them to the wrong people.</p><p>So really what was the point?</p><p>He didn’t want to give up. He was Spider-Man. Supposed to be strong and brave like Mr Stark. His mentor had managed to make his escape from Afghanistan with nothing more than some scraps in a cave. But trying to be optimistic was getting harder and harder. Still, he had to think of a way out of this.</p><p>He knew logically that his best chance of escape would be now. During the transport. There were only two guards and if he could just open the door and jump out then someone would be able to help him. He would be injured jumping from a moving vehicle, but he was sure that that would be better than whatever lay in store for him if he stayed.</p><p>Squinting an eye open, he noted that the men were indeed sitting in the front of the car, staring out the front window. His arms would be no help opening the door, but his bare feet were pressed against one. Keeping one eye on the men in front, he slowly slid his left foot along the door until his toes brushed over the cold metal handle. He knew the minute the door was opened he would need to move quickly. The men might not notice him moving, but they would definitely notice a door swinging open while they sped along the freeway. He tensed his muscles in preparation for jumping out. Holding his breath, he curled his toes around the handle, ignoring the cramping sensation it caused in his calf, and quickly pulled the handle. The door slipped open with a click.</p><p>The minute it opened, he swung his body up shuffling as quickly as possible to the opening. His legs were hanging out the door, his hips on the very edge of the seat. He could feel the air whipping against his bare skin. The sun burning his eyes. Too bright after almost a month indoors. He could hear the cars honking at the open door.</p><p>One more jump and he would be free.</p><p>Barely an inch to go.</p><p>A sharp prick stung the back of his neck a second before he felt the cold trickle of drugs entering his system. Still, he ventured forward. Leaning further out of the door. He was a centimetre from freedom when a strong set of arms grabbed his bound wrists and yanked him back into the car, flinging him backwards until his head thumped against the opposite door. He watched as the man leant back over the seats to pull the door shut again.</p><p>His menacing face turned to stare at Peter. The drugs coursing through his veins made him slow. Everything was getting fuzzy. He watched the man pull his fist back. He didn’t even have time to flinch before the fist collided with his nose. As the first trickle of blood leaked down over his lips, he watched the mans fist move to connect with the side of his head as well.</p><p>And then everything went black.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So Peter is in for a hard time. The next couple of chapters are were the Rape/Non-con and Underage tags come into play.</p><p>Please be careful!</p><p>TW: implied future rape, nudity (non-graphic)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peters eyes snapped open as he jerked back into consciousness. The action causing pain to pulse through his skull. Screwing up his face in discomfort he felt nis nose throb. He guessed it was probably broken after the punch earlier. Raising a hand to the tender area, he felt the slightly crooked line of it. He took a moment to marvel at the fact he could move his hands somewhat freely for the first time since the shower, before he sucked in a quick breath through his mouth and twisted his nose back into place. A pained grunt escaping his lips as he felt it settle. A fresh trickle of blood was released down his face from the movement, but at least his nose would heal properly now. The last thing he needed was a wonky nose causing future breathing problems.</p><p>As the pain slowly receded, he took stock of the rest of his body. There was a pounding in his head that he guessed was part due to the beating he took in the car and part probably due to drugs he could still feel in his system. His shoulders were stiff and painful when he moved them, likely due to his arms being bound behind him for so long beforehand. The rest of him felt relatively ok. He was tired and cold, but that had become his new normal since he had been taken.</p><p>Sighing, he raised his hands to his face taking in the bruising that circled his wrists. Gently dropping his hands to rest on his lap, he raised his head to take in his surroundings.</p><p>He was lying slumped with his back against a wall in what looked like a basement. Concrete floors and walls. The ceiling was made up of wooden planks. The wall opposite him had a wooden staircase that led to a door he assumed would take him to the rest of the house. Along the wall to his right, he was surprised to see a bed. What was more surprising was the blanket and pillow resting on top of the thin mattress. Furrowing his brow, he shifted his gaze to the left wall where a toilet <em>and</em> sink were attached.</p><p>Planting his hands onto the cool ground, he pushed himself to sit up a bit more. Slowly working himself up to maybe moving to sit on the bed. He couldn’t help but feel it was some sort of trap though. He’d been held in a room with a solitary toilet – not even a sink – for a month. Why would they be giving him what they would class as <em>luxuries</em> now?</p><p>The movement as he sat up taller, drew his attention to a heavy weight around his neck. Raising his hands again, he felt a thick metal band circling his throat. Letting his fingers trace the band, he found a small loop sticking out of the back of it with a chain attached. Twisting his body round, he saw the chain was attached to the wall he was resting on.</p><p>He was collared. And on a leash.</p><p>He let out a huff of breath. A humourless laugh as he thumped his head back against the wall.</p><p>He wondered if the chain would even have enough give to let him reach the bed or the sink. Was it just some sort of sick power play? Let him see the things he’d never have? Just like with the Avengers before.</p><p>Had they not been cruel enough already?</p><p>He quickly blinked past the tears forming in his eyes. He should probably at least try to make it the bed. It’s what the Avengers would do.</p><p>Glancing between the chain and the bed, he dared to think that there might actually be enough length to reach it. If nothing else, he might be able to grab the blanket to wrap around himself on the floor. Crawling forward on shaking limbs he slowly inched closer to the bed.</p><p>When he reached the nearest end of the bed, he paused. Turning his head to glance back at the chain he felt his chest grow slightly lighter when he realised it still had some give in it. Gripping the edge of the bedframe, he pulled himself up onto the thin mattress, chest heaving with exertion. They really must have dosed him with some strong drugs earlier. As his breathing returned to normal, he shifted to lay down of the bed. Keeping his head nearest the wall he was chained to.</p><p>Gently flapping the blanket over himself, he curled up into a loose ball. He felt a tear run down his cheek as he leant his head onto the pillow. Pulling the blanket up to his chin, he breathed in the musty material, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.</p><p>God, what would the Avengers think of him now? What would Tony think? Crying over a lumpy mattress and an ancient blanket. Is that really what it had come down to? They would never want him back if they saw him being this weak.</p><p>He let his eyes roam the unfamiliar room for a little longer. Jolting when he noticed a very small inset window, no bigger than his laptop, at the very top of the wall the chain was attached to.</p><p>He had a window.</p><p>Squinting his eyes, he noted that it was dark outside. He could see the moon fighting to get through some clouds. It was night-time.</p><p>For the first time in over a month, he knew the rough time of day for definite.</p><p>He kept his eyes locked firmly on the small slice of the sky. Marvelling in the slow movement of the clouds, glowing silver in the moonlight. His gaze didn’t wander from the sight until sleep overtook him. Pulling him into a thankfully dreamless sleep.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter awoke surprisingly warm. He had grown accustomed to waking up shivering in the mornings. Instead, he found himself burying his head into the pillow and tugging the blanket closer. Revelling in the comforting heat.</p><p>Keeping his eyes closed he continued to just lay in the bed for a while. No one seemed to be coming to the door demanding he move or dragging him away for tests, so he was going to make the most of it. He could almost pretend he was back home for a little while.</p><p>Eventually his bladder forced him out of bed though. Slowly sitting up, he flinched when his bare feet hit the cold floor. Stretching his arms out above his head, he gazed out the window. There were small slithers of blue sky poking their way through the clouds. Standing on wobbly legs he shuffled his way over to the toilet on the opposite wall. After he relieved himself, he felt a small smile tugging at his lips as he turned the tap on to wash his hands.</p><p>As he shook the water off his hands, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind the basement door. Taking a deep breath, he tried to prepare himself for whatever was going to happen. Glancing around the room for anything he could use as a defensive weapon, he came up short. Instead, he moved to press himself back into the corner. Keeping his eyes fixed on the door.</p><p>When the door opened the two men he had seen in the car walked in. Watching them move, he noted that they were indeed the guards that usually escorted him around the facility. The first man was tall, had neatly trimmed blonde hair with a heavily tattooed arm. He recognised him as the man that handed him the boxer-briefs after his shower the other day. The same one that punched him yesterday after his failed escape from the car. The other man, Gary if his memory served him right, was slightly shorter. With dark brown hair and a matching beard. He was the one that never failed to give Peter the creeps. His gaze was always that bit too low and lasting too long.</p><p>“I see you’re still here kid,” the first man grinned.</p><p>Shifting under the pairs gaze, he wrapped an arm around his waist. Offering himself some reassurance. The voice confirmed he was right about the other man being Gary.</p><p>Gary leered at him as he strutted down the stairs, “Not that your escape plans seem to work anyway. Yesterday’s failed spectacularly.”</p><p>Peter’s gaze flitted between the two men. They were wearing the same tactical gear that they always wore. A million questions and sarcastic retorts were sitting on the tip of his tongue. But he was embarrassed to admit - even to himself - that he was too scared to voice them. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to talk unless he was answering a direct question. If he talked out of turn, he would be punished. Keeping quiet, he shifted on his feet. His hands clenching and unclenching as he studied the men waiting to see what they were going to do.</p><p>His thoughts must have been obvious on his face as the first man stepped forward. “I assume you want to know what’s happening?” At Peter’s nod the man hummed in thought. “Well, as you may have noticed the Avengers managed to break into our auction, trying to rescue their beloved Spider-Man, but they clearly failed. They’ve caused a bit of a hassle though. Because it means we can’t sell you on just now so we’ve,” the man gestured between himself and Gary, “been tasked with keeping you out of sight until its safe for us to move you again.”</p><p>“Don’t worry though kid, we will take <em>real good</em> care of you,” Gary grinned. “While you’re here Boss is letting us use you as part payment. It’ll help get you into the right mindset for being sold on. A real <em>well-rounded</em> education if you will.”</p><p>Peter’s brow furrowed in confusion. He had no idea what <em>that</em> was supposed to mean, but it made it him feel uneasy. Ducking his head to offer himself more protection from the men, he pressed further into the corner.</p><p>The other man sent a chilling smile at Peter. “We are going to get you used to the mindset you will need. Most owners won’t give you anything for free. So we won’t either. You have a sink and a bed in this room, don’t you?” Peter nodded. “You want to keep them?”</p><p>“Y-yes please,” he croaked out.</p><p>“Well then, they will cost you your clothing. Your choice. Hand over your boxers and keep the sink and bed or keep the boxers and we take them away.”</p><p>His eyes widened in shock. Gaze flitting between the man and Gary. He could clearly see that it wasn’t just a threat in the mans eyes. He would take away the bed and stop him from being able to use the sink. He had only just gotten them. But could he face being naked all the time? Being so exposed to these men?</p><p>Glancing down, he noted what he had already thought the previous day. The white boxer-briefs were too tight and didn’t leave much to the imagination. Were the boxers really covering him that much? Was the comfort of the new furniture more appealing than his modesty? With an audible gulp, he realised that yes. He couldn’t lose the bed after just getting it.</p><p>With shaking hands, he reached for the waistband of his underwear. He could feel his cheeks heating up as he slid them down over his hips before stepping out of them.</p><p>“Hand them here,” the man ordered.</p><p>Picking them up in one hand, Peter used the other hand to cover himself as he shuffled forward, holding the boxers out to the man. Once the man took the boxers off of him, he gave Peter a short nod, before turning to the stairs. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit,” the man looked at Gary before continuing, “let me know if you need any food brought down later.”</p><p>Gary nodded, grinning wickedly, “I will do.”</p><p>Once the door was closed and it was just the two of them left alone in the room, Peter dragged his gaze down to the floor. Not wanting to watch the way Gary’s eyes were sizing him up.</p><p>“So, I’m going to be honest with you kid. You want food here; you’re going to need to earn it. Understand?”</p><p>That couldn’t be good. His eyes darted to Gary’s before settling on the mans forehead, “How do I e-earn it? Sir?”</p><p>He knew that even though the drugs reduced his metabolism, it was still quicker than a regular human. He couldn’t go long without food. He’d end up having to do whatever it was at some point or he would risk starving to death. He was already in dangerous territory with it being over a day since he’d eaten. He could feel it in the way his stomach felt hollow and his muscles wanted to wobble.</p><p>The man before him smirked, “Well I’m an adult man with <em>urges,</em>” Peter’s blood ran cold at his words. Not wanting to believe what he was hearing. What he thought Gary was insinuating. “You have two holes that I can use to satisfy my <em>urges</em>. Of course, when your sold on, you’re not going to have the option to say yes or no, but since it’s your first time we’ll be nice.”</p><p>Peters mouth had gone bone dry. His fear getting the better of him. “Em, will I get a say in… in which – hole,” he choked the word out, “you use?” Not that it mattered. It was all just as bad as each other, but he wanted to know if he would have any control over the situation. His lower lip was trembling as he fought to hold his tears at bay.</p><p>The man laughed at that, quickly shaking his head. “Oh no kid. Where would be the fun in that?” Reaching forward to brace his hands on Peters shoulders, causing him to flinch, he grinned down at the boy. “You just need to decide if you want to eat or not. If you do, you say yes. If you don’t, then I’ll leave and come back to give you the same offer tomorrow and so on. But the longer you put it off, the less gentle I’ll be.”</p><p>Peter could feel a tear slipping down his cheek. How was he supposed to answer that? He needed to eat. He knew he did. He wouldn’t survive long without sustenance. His stomach was already aching in hunger. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to imagine what Mr Stark or Clint would do in this situation. But that was pointless. They would have already escaped by now. He didn’t want to die. He knew he couldn’t go more than another day - two at most - without food, but he also couldn’t bring himself to say yes. He knew that even if did say yes it would be rape. The thought alone making bile rise in his throat. He hadn’t even kissed MJ yet. He couldn’t just let his man steal away his innocence like that. What would Mr Stark think? If he came to rescue him and found him on his knees in front of his kidnapper?</p><p>Bracing himself for pain, Peter slowly but deliberately shook his head. “N-no sir,” he spoke in a whisper thick with tears. Squinting his eyes open to be met with Gary’s condescending gaze.</p><p>The man patted him on the shoulder, before backing away towards the stairs. He paused at the top, “See you same time tomorrow,” before he was left alone again.</p><p>Dropping to the ground where he stood, he wrapped his arms around his knees. Holding himself together as he sobbed. Loud and ugly. Letting his fear win. Even if just for a little while. He fought to suck in breathes though his mouth, as his nose became blocked. The force of his tears causing his stomach muscles to tense, aggravating the hunger pains.</p><p>If he continued to say no, he would end up starving himself to death. If he was being given the option of food – no matter how horrible the cost – and he said no, would that count as suicide by proxy?</p><p>What would May think if she found out that he just gave up? What would Ned think? Or MJ or Mr Stark? Even Happy?</p><p>But then what would they think if they found out he was willingly whoring himself out to these psychos? Because when it came down to it, that’s what he’d be doing, right? He wished he had MJ here to talk this over philosophically. But then again, he wants MJ nowhere near this mess. </p><p>He wondered if they’d ever find out. There had already been a failed rescue mission. He doubted the Avengers would manage to infiltrate another auction and it sounded like these guys wouldn’t even try for another one till they were sure they wouldn’t need to worry about the threat of the Avengers.</p><p>So was there even any point in him fighting anymore?</p><p>Shaking the negative thoughts from his head, he focused on controlling his sobs until he finally managed to stop. Breathing through his mouth, as his nose was all stuffy from crying. He could feel drying snot and tears covering his face. He wiped a shaking hand over his face to try and clean up a bit.</p><p>Standing up on his wobbly legs, he quickly made his way to the bed before falling onto the mattress. Pulling the blanket tightly round his shoulders he buried his head in the pillow, trying to block out the thoughts of what that man – what Gary – wanted to do to him.</p><p>Ignoring the hunger pains wracking his stomach and the headache he could feel blossoming behind his eyes, Peter instead chose to let his thoughts flit back to being home. Wrapped up in a blanket on the couch with May watching bad reality tv shows while they waited for their take-out to arrive. Building a new lego set with Ned while he rambled on about his day. Discussing whatever new cause MJ had rallied behind that week. Geeking out in the lab with Mr Stark. Movie nights with the Avengers. For just a little while, wrapped up in a bed, he could pretend things weren’t as bad they were.</p><p>He could pretend that things might turn out ok.</p><p>Eventually he let those thoughts lull him into a fitful sleep. Hoping that when he woke in the morning, this could all just be a bad dream.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please heed the warnings. This chapter ended up a bit more explicit than I had originally intended. So apologies for that, but I hope its not too bad! </p><p>Peter is also 17, which I *think* is underage in America? Age of consent is 16 in Scotland, so wouldn't be here, but I'm trying to cover my bases.</p><p>TW: suicidal thoughts, Rape (relatively explicit)</p><p>Please be safe!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Peter’s chest heaved with exertion as he continued his sprint through the darkened tunnels. The light was so low that he could barely see more than 10 feet ahead of him, even with his enhanced vision. He could hear something coming after him. He couldn’t remember what it was exactly he was running from; he just knew he couldn’t let it catch him. He wouldn’t survive if it caught up to him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>His entire body ached as he pushed it past its limits in the hopes of escaping. Putting some more distance between himself and whatever was chasing him. Hunting him down.</em>
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  <em>He drew up short when he came to a junction. His harsh panting echoing off the walls around him. He could see two tunnels he would have to choose from. The path on his left was a dead end. He could see that from where he stood. The path on his right was narrower but it looked like it went on further. He might be able to get out that way. But even from here he could see the uneven ground and jagged walls. It would be a horrible tunnel to try and run through, there’s no way he could get through it without injuring himself on the way.</em>
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  <em>Besides, he could hear the footsteps in the distance drawing ever closer. His body was tiring. It wasn’t like he was going to be able to make it out of here alive. Did he really want to make it last even longer when his death was inevitable?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Gazing down at his bare feet, he thought over his options quickly in his head. Glancing up at the two tunnels again he was startled by a person standing a couple of feet ahead of him. A woman. Long brown hair falling over her shoulders. He has no idea where she came from.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hello?” his voice echoed off the stone walls surrounding them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As the figure turned around, his breath caught in his throat, as aunt May’s eyes met his. “M-May?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The corners of her lips tugged into a slight smile while her eyes held tears. Peters hands twitched with the urge to reach out and hold her, but his limbs wouldn’t cooperate. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What are you doing here May?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She shook her head, disappointed eyes meeting his. “You’re going to give up now Peter? I’ve already lost my husband and now you are just going to give up without a fight? How could you do that to me?” her voice was thick with tears.</em>
</p><p><em>Shaking his head Peter pleaded with his aunt, “I’m not giving up May. I swear, I don’t want to leave you. I’m just – I’m just so </em>tired.<em> I can’t do this anymore. It’s too hard.”</em></p><p><em>She reached her hands out, coming to a pause just beside his cheek – not quite touching. Still, Peter thought he could feel the heat coming from her palm. Her eyes turned sympathetic as she took in the sight of her nephew. “I know it’s hard Peter. I’m so sorry you are having to go through this, but you know the Avengers won’t give up on you. Tony won’t give up on you. </em>I <em>won’t give up on you. We will find you. I promise. But we need you to be alive when we do that.” She turned to face down the tight and rugged tunnel, the one with rocks that would slice at his skin when he ran. “I just want you to come home, Peter.” One of her hands flew to her mouth as she choked on a sob. “So please, just keep fighting and stay alive till we can get to you.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Tears were streaming down Peters face. His body seemed frozen as he watched his aunts form shake with sobs. The footsteps behind him were getting closer again. He knew if he was going to stand a chance at getting away, he would need to start running. Now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“O-okay,” his voice trembled. “But what about you? I can’t just leave you May.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. You’re not leaving me. I’m always with you. You know that. But you have to go now. I love you Peter.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nodding his head, he sucked in a breath. “I love you too May.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wiping at the tears staining his cheeks, he set off down the tunnel. Wincing as the stones bit into the sensitive skin of his soles, and the jagged walls scratched at his shoulder as he bounded round the corners.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The creature chasing him grew closer. His legs were tiring and no matter how hard he ran, he didn’t seem to be covering any distance. It was like he was running underwater. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Glancing back over his shoulder he caught sight of a creature in the shadows closing in on him. As he watched the creature, his heart leapt into his throat when he realised, he could no longer feel the biting stones beneath his feet. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He was freefalling through the air. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>No webshooters or Iron Man there to catch him.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He gasped awake, chest pounding in his chest. Panting heavily, he struggled to untangle his limbs from the blanket.</p><p>Falling back onto the pillow. He focused on slowing his breathing. He turned his attention to the small window and took comfort in being able to watch the clouds drift past. The early morning sunshine slowly starting to colour the sky. He thought he could make out some birds in the distance. He watched the small black specs dancing around in the sky. Letting their slow, graceful movements ground him.</p><p>Once his breathing had returned to normal, he let his mind drift over his dream. That’s all it was. A dream. Logically he knows that.</p><p>But it had felt so real.</p><p>The look of disappointment on May’s face when she thought he was just going to give up and let himself die rather than fighting it. Not wanting to take the horrible path to buy himself more time.</p><p>A sharp pain shot through his stomach. Curling up into a ball, he squeezed his stomach on the off chance it would help keep the hunger pains at bay. Keeping his eyes on the small patch of sky outside.</p><p>He hadn’t eaten since the day before the auction. That must have been about 3 days ago now. He was definitely in dangerous territory. But he had also exerted himself during the failed rescue attempt during the auction. And then again during his failed escape from the car. He was quickly running out of time and energy.</p><p>His bladder was painfully full despite how little he had drank yesterday and his mouth was parched. Eying the toilet and sink across the room, he gathered what little strength he had left to make his way across the room.</p><p>He hissed as the blanket fell from his shoulders and his skin was hit by the cold air. His vision blacked out briefly as he stood up. The room spinning dangerously. After it had passed, he managed to slowly shuffle the short distance across the room. Quickly relieving his bladder, he washed his hands before stumbling down onto his knees. Pressing his face under the tap to drink some of the water. Hoping the liquid might at least ease some of his hunger pains.</p><p>He drank until he was on the verge of feeling sick. His stomach struggling with filling so quickly after being so empty. Falling back onto his haunches, he glanced back over at the bed. His arms and legs were shaking so badly that he couldn’t stand back up to cross the room. Instead, he managed to crawl halfway before his arms gave out. His chin smacking painfully against the concrete floor.</p><p>He let out a sob when he realised he was too weak to travel the rest of the way to the bed. Laying there, face down on the dirty floor in some ratty old basement, he let out his frustrations. Tears once again falling freely across his face.</p><p>He couldn’t keep doing this.</p><p>If he didn’t eat today, then he didn’t think he would be waking up tomorrow. Could he face the thought of May finding out that he just gave up? That he willingly let himself starve? He knows that she would want him to hang on for as long as possible. He didn’t want to leave her. He had never longed for one of her hugs more than he did right now. But what would she say if she knew the cost of his survival? Would she even still <em>want</em> to hug him if he agreed to do unspeakable things with the man?</p><p>With a final sob, he curled himself up into a ball in the centre of the room where he lay. Picturing his aunts loving face, he knew the decision he had to make.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter must have been laying on the floor for a couple of hours. He watched the small patch of sunlight from the window slowly travel across the wall. He knew Gary would come down at some point to ask him the question. His stomach, that continued to wrack him with painful spasms, wouldn’t let him forget.</p><p>Eventually, the door at the top of the stairs did open. Peter groaned as he squeezed his arms around his middle, trying to alleviate some of the hunger pains, as Gary descended the stairs. Stalking forward before crouching down in front of him.</p><p>“So, do you want something to eat today?” the man smirked, with a cruel gleam in his eyes.</p><p>Squeezing his eyes shut, Peter reminded himself of how much he wanted to be able to see May again. He just hoped she would be able to forgive him for this. Nodding his head slowly, he whispered in a broken voice, “Y-yes sir.”</p><p>Gary snapped his fingers in front of his face, causing Peter to snap his eyes open on instinct. Staring up at the man, “And you know the cost?”</p><p>With a tear escaping from his eye he nodded, “Yes.”</p><p>The man grinned wickedly before ordering the boy to turn around. Weakly pushing himself up onto his knees, he turned so his back was to the man. His chest heaving with silent sobs. He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking from where they hung limply by his sides.</p><p>“Hands behind your back.”</p><p>With trembling limbs, he struggled to stay upright in the seated position as he moved his arms behind him. The minute his fists were touching each other, resting against his lower back, he felt thick metal cuffs being attached. Keeping his arms bound behind him.</p><p>When Gary’s hand moved to rest on his hip, he couldn’t contain his whimper. This was actually happening. He was barely strong enough to keep himself sitting. Never mind trying to stand and fight. This man was about to…</p><p>He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed Gary moving to stand in front of him until he heard the mans zipper. Eyes opening wide in panic – when had he closed them? – he weakly tried to shuffle backwards, but the mans harsh grip in his hair halted his movements.</p><p>“If I even feel the scrape of teeth, the whipping you got back at the facility will feel like a damn massage compared to what I will do to you, got it?”</p><p>Whimpering at the reminder of the pain he had experienced; he gave a short nod.</p><p>At the boys confirmation, Gary pulled himself out of his boxers. The grip on Peters hair prevented him from backing away as the mans cock stood just inches from his face. Tears were freely streaming down his face. His chest heaving in an attempt to stop himself from hyperventilating.</p><p>“Open wide.”</p><p>Swallowing around his dry throat, he shakily opened his mouth. The man wasted no time before pushing the head of cock into Peters mouth. The musky scent overcoming his senses as the heavy weight settled on his tongue. He wanted to gag. He wanted to scream and push him off. Bite down and make it end.</p><p>But he was weak.</p><p>He was so hungry. And he was scared. He didn’t doubt the man meant it when he said he could make him hurt so much worse than the pain the whipping had caused.</p><p>So instead of doing what he wanted to, Peter kept his mouth open. Closing his eyes to block out the view of the mans stomach clenching as he thrust into him. Tried to keep his breathing even whenever he gagged after the man pushed in too far. Forcing himself into his throat. Silently praying that he would hurry up and finish so that it could be over.</p><p>He tried to ignore the grunts coming from the man. Ignore the way one of the mans hands was stroking through his hair while the other gripped it painfully tight – preventing him from moving.</p><p>Eventually, it could have been 5 or 15 minutes later Peter couldn’t tell, Gary held his hair tightly in both hands and forced himself further into his mouth. Peter fought his instincts not to gag and bite down.</p><p>He could feel the man finishing in his mouth. The thought alone making him gag. Never mind the bitter taste or the feel of it sitting on the back of his tongue. Once the man pulled out, he pressed a hand over Peters mouth and nose, giving him no option but to swallow if he wanted to breathe again.</p><p>Grimacing as he did so, Gary let go, giving his cheek a sharp tap.</p><p>The man tucked himself back into his trousers before reaching round to undo the cuffs around his wrists. As soon as his arms were free, Peter wrapped them around himself. Trying to hold himself together. He heard Gary on the stairs before the door slipped shut.</p><p>Peters stomach lurched painfully, before he was dragging himself towards the toilet where he quickly emptied his stomach contents. There was nothing to bring up except bile and that horrible white substance. He could still taste it on his tongue. He wasn’t sure it was something he would ever be able to be rid of. The thought tore a sob from his throat. Which was quickly followed by another and another until he lost count.</p><p>Peter was so lost in his sobs, that he found himself jumping when someone appeared in the corner of his vision. Skittering back as quickly as his weak body would let him, he found himself watching the other man as he stood evaluating him. If he didn’t know any better, he would have said he saw sympathy in the mans eyes. But that would be ridiculous. The man was willingly holding him here. Complicit in the sale of children just like him. He wouldn’t feel sympathy for something he helped do.</p><p>The man slowly stepped towards Peter and held out a plate. Eying it warily, Peter could see what looked like a sandwich and an overly brown banana sitting on it. Too frozen to take the plate, the man huffed a breath but gently placed it by Peters feet before backing out of the room again without a word.</p><p>Dragging his shaking fists over his face, Peter tried to stop the tears.</p><p>He knew that he should be wary of the food. They were very likely going to be drugging it or something since they hadn’t replaced his band yet, but he was so hungry he didn’t care. Even if it was drugged, he would still need to eat it to keep himself alive.</p><p>Slowly picking up the sandwich he was surprised to see it filled with strawberry jam. It was so different to the stale bread or bland oatmeal mush stuff he had been given back at the facility.</p><p>Despite the sweet taste, Peter found himself struggling to swallow the first couple bites around the dryness in his throat. Still not able to shake the feeling of being violated. The pain in his throat reminding him with every bite. Still the more he ate, the less his stomach hurt and eventually about halfway through his sandwich the salty taste Gary had left behind started to disappear.</p><p>Eying the banana, he decided that he couldn’t afford to waste the nutrition but quickly decided that he would have to break it up. He couldn’t take a bite of it without crying.</p><p>After he had eaten and taken another drink from the sink, he managed to get himself back over to the bed. The sun was still shining outside so he guessed it was probably late afternoon, but it wasn’t like he had anything he needed to be awake for anyway.</p><p>Pulling the blanket closer around his shoulders, he kept his eyes on the window. Repeating the one thought that was keeping him going: <em>I’m going to see May again. I just need to stay alive.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow, lots of chapters today!</p><p>I'm pretty sure this is the last graphic chapter. </p><p>TW: Rape</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony was slumped over his lab table staring down the unopened bottle of whiskey. Over the last couple of days, he’d lost track of the number of times he had almost broken his sobriety.</p><p>Despite not cracking the bottle open yet, his memories since the last auction would still only come in fragments.</p><p>He vaguely remembers a silent flight back to the compound. The team could barely look at each other, never mind attempting to hold conversations.</p><p>He could vividly picture Mays distraught face as he had stumbled down the ramp. He had frozen as she approached, preparing himself for the inevitable slap. He wasn’t going to even attempt to defend himself. He knew he deserved it. He had let her down and let her nephew be taken. Again. He was supposed to have brought him home. But he had failed. So he closed his eyes waiting for the woman’s attack. Instead, he had stumbled back in surprise when she wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into his neck. He could feel her sobs wracking her small frame. He had raised shaky arms to wrap around her, murmuring apologies into the top of her head as his own tears ran down his cheeks.</p><p>“It’s not your fault Tony. How was he? How was our boy?” she whispered in a broken voice.</p><p>Shaking his head, he couldn’t think of an answer.</p><p>Thinking back on that moment, he had no idea what response he had eventually choked out. He imagines it would have been something to reassure her before stumbling off to his lab.</p><p>At some point during those first 24 hours, Rhodey and Pepper had come down to attempt and convince him to leave the lab and go eat and get some sleep. Be with the team upstairs. Do anything other than lock himself in the lab.</p><p>Tony had immediately dismissed those ideas and after the fifth interruption he had had FRIDAY put the lab on complete lockdown. Only himself having the powers to override it.</p><p>He had FRIDAY running searches for Peter. Had her searching everywhere. Airports, highways, cities. Any CCTV footage she could get her hands on.</p><p>She was keeping in touch with the team from their command centre in the common area. If they found anything he would be notified straight away and vice versa.</p><p>But as the days slipped by, his hope had all but diminished.</p><p>His hands twitching with the need to be doing something. He had disassembled and reassembled one of his older suits twice already. Relying on muscle memory alone once his brain could no longer focus.</p><p>But eventually his tired body couldn’t keep his cravings at bay. That’s when he had slumped at his desk with the bottle of whiskey instead.</p><p>The clock projected on the wall let out a quiet beep. Drawing his attention to the time and the start of another hour. Peter had suggested installing that feature a while ago to help keep track of his time spent in the lab.</p><p>1am.</p><p>They were now onto the fifth day since the failed rescue attempt. They had no idea what they were doing with Peter now that they were in hiding.</p><p>Natasha and Bucky had spent 48 hours <em>interrogating</em> the sons of bitches that had been involved with the auction. But they wouldn’t break. They were either the strongest willed guards in the world or they genuinely hadn’t known anything. Wanda had even taken a look into their minds but couldn’t find anything about possible contingency plans. When it was proven they were of no use, Bucky and Natasha had made quick work of <em>removing</em> them from the facility.</p><p>They had no leads.</p><p>“Boss, your presence is requested in the common area,” he jolted at the sudden interruption to his thoughts by his AI. Rolling out a crick in his neck, he eyed the ceiling questioningly. He knew fine well the team had been trying to get him to leave the lab for days now. He wouldn’t put it past them to use FRIDAY as a way to get to him. “It would appear they have found something. A DNA match has been made to Peter Parker.”</p><p>Heart thumping in his chest, he shoved the lab stool back. His knees almost giving out at the sudden movement after so little sustenance. His grip on the table was the only thing keeping him upright. Once the spots in his vision had disappeared, he made his way as quickly as he could to the lab doors.</p><p>If the team had something, he wasn’t going to hold them up any longer than necessary.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter blinked his gritty eyes open. Raising a fist to rub at his sticky cheeks. He had cried himself to sleep last night again. His dried tears leaving his face itchy.</p><p>It had turned out that when Gary had mentioned he would ask if Peter wanted to eat, the question only actually referred to the first day. Because Peter had said yes 3 days ago, Gary no longer asked.</p><p>Instead, he had strut into the room yesterday, and the day before, and forced Peter onto his knees again. Ignoring his protests, the man would take what he wanted before leaving the boy curled in a ball in the centre of the room. Eventually the other man would come down to give Peter some more food. He had been slightly surprised to see an increase in the portion sizes, but then he knew his enhanced metabolism would certainly need more than he had previously been given.</p><p>Eying the window, he could see the early morning sun starting to send a glow across the sky. It was managing to turn the sky a deep shade of red. It reminded him of a saying his aunt used to use. It never made much sense to him. <em>Red sky in the morning, shepherds warning. Red sky at night, shepherds delight. </em>It was supposed to be some type of sign of the weather or something. It’s not like in New York City he had learnt much about what weather a shepherd would need.</p><p>The memory of May sitting at their cramped dining table, staring out the kitchen window as Peter rushed around grabbing a quick bowl of cereal before he had to leave for school, flashed into his mind. She had told Peter that he definitely needed to take his jacket with him that day since the sky was red, so it was going to be raining. But it had completely slipped his mind as he dumped his bowl in the sink grabbing his bag before running out with a quick ‘bye May’ being shouted over his shoulder. Of course, he had been soaked to the bone by the time he had trudged home later that day. His aunt smirking at him from her spot on the couch when he slipped past her on his way to have a warm shower.</p><p>Sighing loudly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He hadn’t given up on his chances on getting out yet, but he knew that if he wanted to escape or even in his more optimistic moments be able to help in another rescue, he would need to be in better shape. So he quickly crossed the room to visit the toilet and have a quick drink from the sink, before moving to the centre of the room.</p><p>He had never had to focus much on exercise. Since the spider bite the majority of his exercise was done as Spider-Man. The swinging and fighting being enough to keep him in shape. But given the small space he had in the room, he focussed on some of the circuit exercises he was forced into doing in gym class instead. After what must have been around half an hour, he was dripping with sweat and out of breath. Quickly giving himself a quick wash at the small sink, he moved to sit with his back against the wall with the window. His fingers were idly playing with the collar around his neck when he heard the door unlock.</p><p>Dropping his hands, he eyed the door warily. Confusion setting in when both men stepped inside. He hadn’t seen the men together since he had first woken here. As they came to a stop in front of Peters feet, he noticed that Gary was holding a gun aimed at his head. Swallowing audibly, he froze. The other man approached gesturing for him to turn around. With tears in his eyes, the boy slowly complied. Holding his shaking hands behind his back. He let out a sob when he felt the metal cuffs circling his wrists. When the mans hand brushed against his throat, he instinctively jerked away, but a firm grip to his shoulder had him returning to his original position.</p><p>There was an audible click before the metal collar was dropped on the ground.</p><p>Furrowing his brow, he turned his questioning gaze to the man, who just smirked.</p><p>“The Avengers are about to have a press conference about something they found during the night, we thought you might want to come watch it with us,” the man raised an eyebrow in question. Already knowing the boys answer.</p><p>Glancing between the two men, Peter slowly nodded his head. He didn’t imagine it could be anything good, but he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to see his team. Even if it was just through a tv screen.</p><p>“Good,” the man wrapped his large hand around Peters bicep before dragging him up onto his feet. Ushering him towards the bottom of the steps. “Don’t even think about trying anything. The band around your arm is still active and we won’t hesitate to shoot you if you give us a reason.”</p><p>Giving a solemn nod, he kept his eyes trained in front of him. He tripped over the stairs but before he knew it, he was standing in the hall of what looked like a log cabin. If he didn’t know what these men had been doing in it, he would be tempted to call it homely.</p><p>He was directed down the hall, past multiple closed doors until he found himself in a large open plan living area. Two couches and a couple of armchairs surrounded a low coffee table, with a tv mounted onto the wall above an open fireplace. He hadn’t realised that he had stopped moving until the man shoved him hard in between his shoulder blades causing him to trip forward. His hip whacking painfully into the back of one of the couches. The man took no notice of his hiss of pain as he directed him onto the middle of the couch. The two men squeezed in on either side of him. Both of their bodies pressing against his. It was clearly a two-person couch and the three of them barely fit, but they clearly didn’t trust him on his own.</p><p>As he sat, he glanced down and felt his cheeks heat up as he compared his bare, white thighs to the thick denim clad thighs on either side of him. After five days he had almost forgotten about the fact he had been kept naked in the room. But the new surroundings made him painfully aware of his state of undress. Not that there was anything he could do about it.</p><p>Gary pressed a couple of buttons on a remote and the tv flashed to life. The news channel already playing. Cameras were set up in the Avengers press conference room in the compound. He had been in it once, when Mr Stark had given him an official tour of the compound. It was a lot bigger than it looked, with a special backstage area allowing whoever would be talking to prepare before stepping out. The stage was currently empty as the room full of reporters waited impatiently for the announcement to begin.</p><p>A hush descended over the room of reporters as the door to the side of the stage opened and the Avengers walked out. Peters breath caught in his throat as he watched his team crowd around the podium. Clint, Sam and Bucky all stood to the left of the podium. Steve and Wanda to the left. He felt tears prick his eyes as he watched Mr Stark stand shoulder to shoulder with Rhodey. His mentor looked ill. His cheeks were gaunter than last time he had seen him, and his skin was a sickly grey. He couldn’t see the mans eyes behind his dark sunglasses, but he could see his mentors hands shaking from where he had them gripped in front of himself. He had expected Mr Stark to make the announcement. He was always the one to do the talking at these sort of conferences. It’s funny how originally people had expected it to be Steve since he was apparently the leader, but unless he was reading from a script, Steve really couldn’t do public speaking. Mr Stark however, knew exactly how to win over a crowd. He could get his point across while completely winging it, meaning he was perfect for these types of press conferences. He didn’t let the reporters put him off. It was Natasha however, who approached the podium to do the talking this time. The others standing around solemnly.</p><p>He heard Gary snicker beside him as Rhodey placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder. A sign of support. Mentally reminding himself to keep breathing, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the tv. Ignoring the man sitting to his left.</p><p>Natasha took a shuddering breath before she raised her head to address the room at large.</p><p>“Thank you for coming. As most of you know, a Stark Industries intern, Peter Parker, went missing 36 days ago,” a photo of himself flashed up onto the screen. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he realised it was the picture Pepper had insisted he take with Mr Stark when they had discovered the kids at school didn’t believe him about the internship. She had made them take pictures with his internship certificate in the main foyer. The photo they were showing was the only professional one taken during the full hour-long photoshoot. The two of them had been too busy striking silly poses and trying to out-do the other. “We had been assisting the police in their efforts to find Peter due to his close connection to the team as Tony’s personal intern. Unfortunately, we received word early this morning of a body being discovered in an abandoned warehouse near Rochester. Due to the state of the remains, it was impossible to visually confirm the identity of the individual, but DNA analys-“ she choked on the word, a hand clamping over her mouth as she sucked in a breath through her nose. Clearing her throat, she continued on, dropping her hand to grip the podium, “DNA analysis confirmed the body to belong to that of Peter Parker. It is with heavy hearts that we announce the switch from missing person investigation to murder investigation. We can assure you that we will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice. We would also appreciate our privacy to deal with the loss. We will not be taking any questions at this time.”</p><p>She stepped back from the podium to grip Bucky’s hand. Peter felt his own tears spilling down his cheeks as he watched his mentors shoulders shake imperceptibly as Rhodey led him back out the door. The room of reporters once again burst into action. Voices overlapping each other in the room as they recapped his apparent death.</p><p>He stared at the reporters face. Trying to understand what could possibly have happened. Why did they think he was dead? Before he could even start to comprehend the fact that the world now thought he was gone, the screen turned to black and Garys hand moved to rest on his thigh. He tensed under the touch but had nowhere to run.</p><p>“Not now Gary, gees,” the man groaned as he moved to stand pulling Peter along with him. “The Avengers and the rest of the world now think your dead, so we don’t need to worry about them anymore. They’re not going to be looking for you. We left a trail to some of our competition. They’ll take the fall for you murder and with any luck in a couple of weeks you will be off home to the highest bidder.”</p><p>He’d been so lost in getting his head around those facts he barely noticed when they made it back to the basement. It wasn’t until he was stumbling down the stairs, the mans grip on his arm the only thing keeping him upright, that he realised.</p><p>As soon as the man had the collar secured around his throat again, he left.</p><p>Peter dropped down to the ground. Pulling his knees up to his chest as he leant against the wall. His hands were still chained behind him and he didn’t have to guess why.</p><p>Gary hadn’t been in today yet.</p><p>Closing his eyes, he tried to picture the faces of the Avengers from the press conference. They had all looked tired. Not that he was in great shape at the moment himself either, but he hadn’t expected them to look so worn out. He’s pretty sure his ribs could be counted from across the room with the way they protruded from his skin, but he had never seen any of the team look so bad before.</p><p>Natasha had looked like she would start crying. He had never seen the spy show any signs of real emotion before. She always hid it so well. Apparently, that had been beaten into her in the Red Room. Not a good thing, but it made it scary to see cracks in that armour.</p><p>But Mr Stark looked like a strong wind would knock him over. He’s sure Rhodey was taking on more of the mans weight than he had been letting on. Not that there was much weight to take. It looked like the man must have lost at least 10 pounds since he had last seen him just 5 days ago. He hoped the man had been eating. Surely Rhodey and Pepper wouldn’t let him waste away like that?</p><p>If his mentor was looking that bad, he dreads to think about May or Ned or MJ. His aunt had barely gotten through the death of his uncle. She had even admitted recently, that during that time the only reason she got out of bed most mornings was because of Peter. She wanted to make sure that he knew she was there for him. How would she be able to cope if he wasn’t there to keep her going? She didn’t have a Rhodey or a Pepper. Without Peter there she lived alone. Sure, Happy had started coming up after dropping him off to chat with his aunt, which was – different. But it wasn’t like it was a regular occurrence. Or at least they didn’t tell him if it was.</p><p>He should have asked about her when he had seen the Avengers last time. He knew how unlikely his chances of getting out had been, but he had been too filled with childish hope that it would all work out to think of asking such questions. He had just assumed that once he was safe, he would see her again.</p><p>The unlocking of the door had him quickly burying his train of thought. He didn’t want his memories of May to be tainted by Gary.</p><p>His breathing picked up as he heard the man approaching. Squinting an eye open he watched as the man grinned. “Don’t know about you kid, but I’m in a great mood after that announcement earlier.” The sound of the mans zipper had Peter scrunching his eyes shut again, so tightly that he could see stars. “Turn around.”</p><p>He reluctantly complied, shifting onto his knees and turning. Although he was confused since he usually only had to turn to get his arms chained. He laughed at the thought – <em>usually – </em>like it’s the same as waiting for the subway train or queuing at delmars. Something he does regularly. This shouldn’t be the sort of thing that he just gets used to.</p><p>He jumped when the mans hand gripped his chained wrists, pushing him until he was forced to bend forward. His chest coming to rest on the concrete floor. Turning his head so his cheek was resting on the ground, he kept his eyes closed. He couldn’t work out what was going on. He tried to wriggle out of the hold, but he quickly stopped when he received a stinging swat of a hand to the top of his thigh. The sting settling deep in the muscle. As soon as he was still Gary’s free hand started to roam up and down his thigh. Going slightly higher each time.</p><p>Honestly, Peters ashamed it took him so long to realise what was happening. But when he felt Garys finger circling his hole his breath caught. “No, no, no. Please don’t do this. Please. Don’t,” as the man started to push his dry digit inside, he couldn’t contain his grunt of pain, weakly kicking his legs out but knowing he wasn’t strong enough to do any real damage. “Ah. Please stop. Stop please, I can’t,” he whimpered.</p><p>It burned.</p><p>When Gary shoved in a second finger Peter was sure he had to have been bleeding. He felt like the man was tearing him open. Tears were spilling from his eyes and his chest heaved with sobs. Words kept pouring from his mouth. Begging the man to stop.</p><p>After a couple of seconds Gary pulled his fingers out.</p><p>Peter allowed himself to relax for half a second, thinking that the man had decided to listen to him. But then he felt the man pressing himself against him. Realising what was about to happen, he renewed his efforts to squirm away. In his panicked state he thought he might actually be able to get away before he felt a sharp wave of pain radiate from his arm. Locking his muscles in place as fire raced through them.</p><p>It was only a short burst, but it left him twitching weakly on the ground. He’d forgotten about the band. Forgot that the men had control of it.</p><p>Without warning, Gary pulled him back up with his ass in the air and shoved himself in. Peter could hear himself screaming as he felt himself being torn open. This time he knew for definite he was bleeding. Could feel a trickle of blood dribbling down his leg. But the man either didn’t notice or didn’t care as he started pounding into his body.</p><p>Zoning out to the best of his ability, he tried to ignore the pain radiating through his body. The way the movement made him want to be sick. Scraping his chest against the cold floor. How his first thought was to cry for his mentor. Wanting him to come and make everything better.</p><p>Once Gary was finally finished, he pulled himself out and uncuffed Peters wrists before leaving the room. He stayed lying there, face down on the ground as he sobbed. He could feel blood and the mans spend spilling out of him. He knew if he wanted to get into the bed, he’d need to clean himself up. Not wanting any of that to touch the mattress or the blanket. But the thought of moving was too much for the time being. So instead, he continued to lie and stare at the wall.</p><p>Despite his world having ended after Gary had taken the last of his innocence from him, time must have kept moving. The other man – he still didn’t know his name – came in with a plate of pasta and even a bar of chocolate. He left them lying next to Peters still form without a word as the boy stared a hole through the wall.</p><p>Eventually the hunger pains in his stomach won out and the boy found himself forcing himself up onto his knees to eat. He cried out when his heel made contact with his backside. Pain radiating from the area made it clear he wouldn’t be sitting down for a while. Shifting slightly, he managed to kneel in a way that meant no weight was on it.</p><p>The pasta was actually good. And the portion was about the same size as the ones he got at home with May. He even huffed a breath in an almost laugh when he realised that the cooking was possibly better than Mays. He couldn’t wait to tell her that. Or maybe not. She might not see the humour in it.</p><p>Breaking off a piece of chocolate, he let the block just melt on his tongue. He almost moaned at the taste. He had forgotten how much of a sweet tooth he had. He had a candy drawer in Mr Starks lab. The man had groaned about it. Complaining that if Pepper or May found out that he would be in trouble for setting a bad example. As a compromise he had helpfully suggested he could put a fruit bowl in the kitchen area of the lab to counteract the candy drawer. Plus, they wouldn’t even see the candy drawer if it was shut so there really wasn’t any harm in it. Besides Peter likes fruit. So it was a win-win.</p><p>He wonders if Tony remembers about that drawer. He hopes that if the man has decided to lock himself in the lab, like he is known to do, that he is at least eating. He knows fine well there is a kitchen in there stocked with food to help satisfy Peters metabolism whenever he is around. It’s not like the man would need to leave in order to eat.</p><p>After he savoured the final piece of chocolate, he sighed to himself. He was going to have to move and get himself to bed. Eying the toilet warily, he dragged himself over. Grunting in pain as he felt the dried remains tugging painfully at his rim.</p><p>After about 10 minutes at the sink, he was as clean as he was going to be able to get without a shower. Personally, he felt like he needed a half hour soak in bleach to clean himself of that man, but he knew that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. Instead, he gave himself a final rinse with the tap water from the sink and did his best to dry off with small strips of toilet roll before making his way to the bed.</p><p>Curling up on his side he wrapped the blanket tight around himself. Once again staring out the window as he waited for sleep to overtake him.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Once the conference was over the team had all retreated to the common area once again. Natasha was surveying the room from where she was resting with her back against the wall.</p><p>Tony and May were sitting together, supporting each other on the loveseat by the window. Pepper and Rhodey perched nearby looking unsure of the best way to help. Happy was also keeping an eye on the pair from his spot in the corner of the room, although Natasha suspected the head of security was keeping an extra eye on May. She wasn’t sure if they had went public yet or not. Steve and Bucky were speaking in low murmurs to each other on the far away couch, while Clint, Sam and Wanda were sprawled on the floor.</p><p>There wasn’t much noise in the room. But then there wasn’t exactly much to talk about. They needed to wait for Fury to arrive. Glancing at her watch, she noted the elevator doors dinged exactly as the clock stuck 2pm. The man was always on time but never early. He ran a packed schedule.</p><p>“Romanoff,” the man nodded in her direction, “what’s the meeting for? I caught the press conference.”</p><p>“Well Fury, that’s just the thing,” she paused to take a deep breath. The team had discussed it throughout the early hours of the morning right up to the press conference, but now they needed to bring Nick in on their plan. “We don’t think he’s dead. The body was unidentifiable but there was blood samples and some small skin samples to get DNA from. We have read the doctors notes from when he was held. Everything we found could easily have been taken from those tests. It just seems fishy that that’s all there was to use for identification. And there is an almost clear trail leading to some of the human traffickers we met a couple weeks back in Dansville. It was too easy to follow. We announced that he’s dead because they want us to think that. We now need to follow the leads and make these people <em>disappear </em>for a while, so they think we have killed them for killing Peter, but I think he’s still out there. <em>We </em>still think that he’s out there.”</p><p>Fury nodded, “So what do you want me to do about it?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please don't hate me. Honestly, proof-reading before I publish is making me really hate my past self for this! I feel so bad for Peter...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: disassociated state, referenced rape, hum trafficking</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Peter awoke, he didn’t bother to move. He had given up on his exercise regimen the day after the Avengers announcement. That had been 6 days ago.</p><p>6 days of Gary taking everything from him.</p><p>The man had been ecstatic the following day when he realised that Peters enhanced healing extended to there. Apparently, it meant he would always be as ‘tight as a virgin’. Something that would have him going for a “pretty penny”.</p><p>But he didn’t care about that.</p><p>He cared about the fact that every time Gary did it, it felt like he was being torn in two again. He’s aware that with regular healing his body would at least be growing accustomed to the size by now. It would still hurt, but he wouldn’t be fully re-tearing every single time.</p><p>Whenever the other man came in to give Peter his food, he had started making comments about the plans for the next auction. The Avengers had been seen going after the people they thought had murdered Peter the day after the press conference so the mens boss thought it would be safe to go ahead with the next auction soon. When he had dropped off his plate of sandwiches and crisps yesterday, the man had even thought it could be as early as today.</p><p>Peter knew that he should care more. That there was every possibility he was about to be sold on today and that he would never get to see his family again. Never see the team again. But honestly, he didn’t feel much of anything.</p><p>He had spent the last couple of days in a slightly disassociated state. It had happened before a year or so ago when he still had regular panic attacks about everything that had happened with the vulture. He had just completely checked out. His body continuing to move through the day on muscle memory, but he couldn’t feel what was happening to him. Couldn’t keep up with what was going on around him. He had coasted through his day at school and eventually made it to the lab with Tony. His mentor had been so worried. Sitting with him squeezing his hands to the point of causing pain until he had snapped out of it. He’d made Peter sit through an examination with Dr Cho, where she confirmed that he had disassociated. She had given him tips on how to notice the warning signs and stop it from happening again. Warning him that it was a slippery slope and that he could eventually end up not being able to return his mind to his body if he did it too much or for too long.</p><p>And he had tried.</p><p>He had started attending regular therapy sessions with Sam. They had looked into other options for therapists, but given he was a superhero and didn’t really want to give away his identity if it wasn’t necessary, the ex-army medic had volunteered readily. Peter had been unsure at first but when he realised that Sam wouldn’t treat him any differently outside of the therapy sessions, he was much more relaxed about it.</p><p>The issue now however was that the Avengers thought he was dead; it wasn’t like he was going to get out of this. He was a genius. Or at least an almost genius. Or <em>was</em> anyway – before all this happened. He knew fine well he wasn’t strong enough to get out of here by himself. He hadn’t even been strong enough to help the team out when they had been doing all the heavy lifting of his attempted rescue. Without outside help, he was going to be stuck with these guys – or whoever they sold him to – until he died.</p><p>What was the point in forcing himself to stay mentally present during it?</p><p>No reason to make himself suffer any more than necessary.</p><p>He’s not sure how long he lay there once he woke up, staring at the sink across the room. He was vaguely aware of the small patch of light from the window travelling across the wall, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn and look out to see where the sun was sitting in the sky.</p><p>He thought he might be thirsty. But he honestly couldn’t tell. He probably should be thirsty since he hadn’t drunk anything yet.</p><p>The sink was still the focus of his thoughts sometime later when he heard the click of the lock. Two sets of footsteps quickly descended the stairs before there were bodies blocking his view. Blinking heavily, he dragged his gaze up to meet the eyes of the two men. Gary and the Other one.</p><p>There was something odd about seeing the two of them together. They didn’t usually do that, but then who was Peter to question these things anymore?</p><p>The mens mouths were moving but he couldn’t catch their words. From the arm movements and growing look of frustration on their faces he assumed they were giving him orders that he clearly wasn’t following.</p><p>“Wha?” he tried to question what they wanted him to do, but his tongue felt heavy in his mouth. His body too sluggish to really form a sentence.</p><p>The two men shared a glance, before the other man stepped forward and slapped Peter across the cheek. Hard. The pain spreading across his face brought him crashing back to reality.</p><p>The sounds of water in the pipes. Birds outside. The mens heartbeats. The bright light of the sun filtering in through the window.</p><p>He took a moment to readjust his senses to his surroundings before his eyes returned to the men. His cheeks growing red in embarrassment at having been caught in such a state.</p><p>“Lets try this again shall we?” Gary drawled. “Get up kid.” Standing on his shaky legs, he eyed the men questioningly when they unfastened the collar from around his neck. His arm was being held in a firm grip by the other man, but they hadn’t chained his wrists together. “We’re taking you for a shower, c’mon. Move.”</p><p>He wasn’t really given much choice in the matter. He was being dragged up the stairs, trying his hardest not to trip over them like last time, and pulled down the same hall as before. Instead of going all the way down to the living room at the end where they had made him watch the press conference, they stopped at one of the closed doors. Opening it to reveal a small bathroom.</p><p>There was a shower over a tub to the left of him with a toilet and sink on the right-hand wall. Gary stepped in ahead of him, flicking some switches to get the water running while the other man just shoved him forward and shut the door behind them.</p><p>Taking a moment to get his bearings, he stumbled forward and using the wall for support, stepped into the tub and moved under the spray. The water was surprisingly a nice temperature. He wouldn’t have been surprised if they had made him shower in cold water, but then he supposes they need him to be properly clean. He wondered if the only reason they were letting him shower today was because it was the auction. It had been the reason last time.</p><p>He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. There’s every possibility that he could be bought by someone who just needs him for manual labour. That wouldn’t be too bad. It would certainly be preferable to wanting him for anything similar to what Gary wants.</p><p>He quickly washed himself with some of the soap that the men were passing him. It didn’t feel long enough to be able to properly clean himself of all he had endured the past couple of weeks, but then he wasn’t sure he was ever going to feel clean again.</p><p>When Gary leant forward to shut off the water he tried to not to flinch. Slowly turning around and accepting the towel he had been handed to dry himself off. He sent a hesitant gaze around the room wondering if he was going to be given another pair of underwear like he had for the last auction, but he couldn’t see anything. He must have been too obvious with his searching, as the men let out a chuckle.</p><p>“Sorry kid, only virgins get underwear.”</p><p>Feeling his cheeks heat up in humiliation, he shifted his gaze to the floor. Hands gripping onto the towel.</p><p>The other man sent him a sympathetic stare, “Tell you what, keep the towel till we get there. I don’t want your naked ass on the car seats. I’d have to wash them.”</p><p>Nodding quickly, Peter wrapped the towel tightly around his waist. Revelling in the feeling of being covered again. Even if it was only for a limited amount of time.</p><p>After a quick glass of water and slice of toast, he was herded to the back door.</p><p>He took a moment to marvel in the scents of the outdoors. The sunshine touching his skin. The fresh breeze tickling his sides. It all felt so foreign to him. Something that he used to take for granted. He wasn’t surprised when he glanced around to see only grass and trees. No other buildings or signs of civilisation in sight. Of course, the men were holding him in a cabin in the woods. It was the perfect cliché.</p><p>Before he was ready, the man was hauling him towards a car that was sitting just a little further down the driveway. He marvelled at the feeling of his bare feet sinking into the sun warmed dirt beneath him.</p><p>Shoving him into the backseat they cuffed his hands to the car door before they were hopping into the front seats giving him a cursory glance before starting the car. It took a couple of seconds to rumble to life, but as soon as it was running, they took off down the bumpy driveway.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>It couldn’t have been more than an hour later when Peter found himself yet again in a room with no windows. This time when he was brought in, he managed to see the outside of the building. And it was huge. Another large facility just like the last one he had been in.</p><p>The room he was in was crowded with other teens and young adults just like him. Just like before. The men had made him leave the towel in the car and his hands had been re-cuffed behind his back. He hadn’t had time to worry about exactly how vulnerable that left him before he had been led to the back of a large line again. The majority of the others in line were all naked as well. There were only a couple of them that had been given underwear. He felt his cheeks heating up in embarrassment when he realised what that meant. That he was no longer <em>clean</em> like he had been the first-time round.</p><p>Guards were swarming the room, keeping a close eye on the <em>merchandise</em>. All dressed in the same tactical gear he had grown accustomed to and armed to the teeth. There was an oppressive silence in the room. Everybody was too scared to make a sound as the guards were clearly not going to take any noise. From the tension leaking off of the armed men, he assumed they were all still on high alert after the last auction.</p><p>The fact that he himself had 4 men standing near him, guns aimed directly at him, helped to confirm that suspicion. The thought made him want to laugh. Where was he going to go? He wasn’t strong enough in this state to fight his way out and the Avengers thought he was dead, so they weren’t going to help.</p><p>He glanced bitterly down at his torso. Wincing when he caught sight of the finger shaped bruises littering his hips. His enhanced healing had started prioritising his injuries, and bruises were very low down on that list nowadays. His stomach sunk in after his ribs ended and where his arms and legs had once been lined with muscles, they were now thin and edging towards being skeletal. He knew that the metal band around his arm only held enough drugs for a week at a time. Since the last auction was more than a week ago now, he had to assume that he was no longer being dosed. But he wasn’t any stronger now. The lack of nutrition and exercise, as well as his rapidly declining mental state, were keeping him weak.</p><p>The line slowly started moving as individuals were dragged through the door out onto what he assumed was the stage. Every time the door swung shut, it was followed by a minute of shuffling as everyone reluctantly edged closer. His hearing had picked up again when the drugs had begun fading from his system. Allowing him to hear the almost silent whimpers of the others and their erratic heartbeats as they all fought to control their own panic. Knowing that if they gave in to the feelings of hopelessness inside themselves, they would be punished by the guards.</p><p>Peter hated himself for just complying along with the others. He was supposed to be Spider-Man. He should have been able to help them. Rescue them. Get them out of this God-awful situation. But he couldn’t.</p><p>Instead, he just followed along with their orders. Keeping his head down. Avoiding eye contact with the others or with any of the guards. Trying to make himself as small as possible.</p><p>As he drew closer to the door, he wondered if the Avengers would continue to help those who had been taken by the likes of the human-traffickers. Surely, they would. If they had infiltrated the last one to get him back, surely, they wouldn’t then just turn their backs on all the others? They had to know how big the organisation was. If he couldn’t be out there continuing his work to protect the city, maybe they would pick up his slack?</p><p>But then, was this not the sort of thing that Tony would call ‘below their pay grade’? He’d probably just pass it onto some team in the FBI or something. Still, hopefully he passed it on to someone. There were kids across the country, heck across the world, who were suffering like this. If he couldn’t help them, he just hoped that someone else would be able to.</p><p>Eventually Peter found himself standing right in front of the door. The only captive left in a room full of guards. Shifting nervously on his feet, he tried to ignore the voices he could hear drifting through the closed door. Men and women alike calling out bids the same way they might fight over a vintage clock. As if its not a human being up on that stage. That they’re not bartering for somebody’s <em>life.</em></p><p>Once he heard a winning bidder being announced, he braced himself for his turn. He tried to rid his mind of the images of Tony in the crowd. He knew that wasn’t going to happen this time round. The man thought he was dead.</p><p>He fought to keep his breathing controlled as the door swung open and he was led onto the stage. Digging his nails into the palms of his hand to try and stop his hands from shaking. There was another sharply dressed man at the podium. Not the same one as last time but in a similar looking suit and a just as slimy smile plastered on his face. Once Peter was dragged to start walking the length of the catwalk the man started talking.</p><p>He could barely hear the words over the beating of his own heart. Only catching small snippets of his speech as he followed the guard clutching his arm wordlessly. He barely glanced at the audience as he was displayed to the room. Not wanting to be disappointed by the lack of familiar faces.</p><p>“…. <em>Incredibly strong……enhanced healing….tight as a virgin each day….Tony Starks personal intern…. Spider-Man…Dead to the world….starting bids…”</em></p><p>The room erupted in an explosion of voices the minute the man opened the floor for bidding. People shouting over each other to try and get in. He winced at the assault to his enhanced senses. Shoulders rising in a failed attempt to protect his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut as if blocking out his sight might help.</p><p>It didn’t.</p><p>Just when he thought his ears might start bleeding from the onslaught of noise, the voices started to die down. Until it was just three voices echoing.</p><p>Eventually it dwindled to just one voice.</p><p>“$850,000, Going once… going twice…SOLD!”</p><p>The banging of a hammer caused him to jump making the guard holding him chuckle. The man led him through into a different room, where he was placed with his back against the wall to wait for his “owner” to arrive.</p><p>Peters gaze quickly darted around the room and his breath caught when he saw the others standing waiting. Some of them apparently had been collected already as there were men and women slipping collars around their necks or just whispering quietly into their ears as the teens cried silently. Too scared to run away. Not that there was anywhere they could go. He knew fine well there were guards everywhere, and outside was just as fortified.</p><p>Slowly he watched as the guards passed keys to the bidders and the room slowly started to empty of people. Smug looking bidders leaving with their prizes. Terrified captives leaving with their new tormentors.</p><p>He jumped when an unfamiliar hand rested on his shoulder. Head snapping to find the source of the hand, he came face-to-face with a man not much taller than himself. Neatly shaved, with short brown hair. The man’s dark green eyes gave nothing away. He couldn’t read any emotions and his mouth was set in a thin line. He couldn’t have been much over 40, Peter thought. But then he was never particularly good with guessing ages. He always assumed it was because May aged so well that his perception was skewed.</p><p>When the mans gaze started to drift down lower over his body, Peter tensed. Squeezing his eyes shut, he lowered his head. Pressing himself back against the wall.</p><p>He heard the mans low voice mumble something to one of the guards somewhere behind him, but before he could even think about listening in, he felt a thick strap of material being tightened around his neck. His eyes snapped open on instinct at the sensation. Surely the man wasn’t going to pay all that money just to kill him straight away?</p><p>His eyes bore into the mans face, but he was resolutely not looking at Peters face as he fastened what appeared to be a collar around his neck. It was a thick enough band that when the man pulled away, Peter couldn’t duck his head without the edges of it digging into the sensitive skin of his neck. He could feel the collar pressing against his throat as he swallowed. He focussed on keeping his breaths even. At least it didn’t appear to be cutting off his air supply.</p><p>He watched as the guards slipped the keys for the cuffs into the mans hand. Glancing away he caught sight of Gary on the far end of the room and his body gave an involuntary shiver.</p><p>The man that had bought him grabbed his arm, holding it tightly but not as bruisingly tight as the guards grip, and started directing him out of the room.</p><p>He found himself stumbling to keep up with the mans brisk pace but eventually he was outside. Gasping once again as he breathed in the fresh air. His eyes darted around for an escape he knew he wouldn’t take. Armed guards lined the perimeter and there were tall metal fences blocking them in on all sides.</p><p>The man stopped in front of a black Audi. If it didn’t belong to someone who had just bought him, he would take the time to admire the car. It really was beautiful. Reminded him of the cars in Mr Starks garage. He had some deal with someone in Audi and he was always getting the newest models before they were even announced. This was an older one though. He’d seen some of the parents of the kids at school using them during drop-offs.</p><p>Keeping a loose grip on his arm, the man opened the passenger door and grabbed a loose pair of basketball shorts. “I’m going to let go of your arm now, don’t run away. There are guards surrounding you who won’t hesitate to shoot.”</p><p>After a quick nod of his head, the man let go of his arms in order to kneel in front of Peter holding the shorts out for him to step through. After staring in confusion for a second, he shakily lifted a foot to slip it through the leg hole. The movement was enough to knock him off balance. His bound arms bashing into the side of the car as the mans hand raised to grip at his waist to keep him standing. His breathing picked up as he stared at the man in silence. Waiting for some form of punishment.</p><p>Instead, the man sighed quietly before lifting Peters other leg to get it in the hole before swiftly standing up and pulling the shorts up with him. He tightened the drawstring around his waist to keep them up and guided Peter into the passenger seat. His shoulders were strained in their position behind his back but at least he had been given some shorts to wear. The man leant over him to fasten his seat belt before shutting the door and making his way round to the driver side.</p><p>He glanced around the car for any signs of the type of man this was, but the car was spotless. There weren’t any hints of what he wanted with Peter. Although, the dark part of his mind pointed out that a man who could keep a car this clean probably didn’t need him for manual labour. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, he stole a quick glance at the man from the corner of his eye as he started the car. The man regarded him for a moment before turning his attention to the road. Taking the steering wheel in a white-knuckle grip, Peter was pressed back into the seat from the speed the man took off from.</p><p>The radio was kept off, but Peters eyes kept being drawn back to the clock on the dashboard. It was 13:32 in the afternoon. He knew the <em>actual</em> time. The thought was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes. But he quickly blinked them away before returning his gaze to outside. He was flying by unfamiliar roads. Back country roads, that twisted and turned. The speed and turns combining to make him queasy. The route was probably an attempt to stay off highways and out of towns where someone would notice a half-naked, bound teenager in the passenger seat. Still Peter hadn’t been able to see this much of the outdoors in a long time and he wasn’t sure how long it would be until he got the opportunity again. So he was going to make the most of it while he could. Keeping his eyes locked out the window despite his nauseous stomach.</p><p>It was because of the clock that he knew they had been driving in silence for over half an hour when the man cleared his throat. Eying Peter carefully before he started to speak.</p><p>“I’m Mark, kid.”</p><p>He turned to face the man; confusion written on his face. Was he supposed to say hi to this man? What if he said the wrong thing? Unsure of the best action to take, he chose the safer option and just didn’t do anything. Continuing to watch the man – Mark – to see if he had anything else to say.</p><p>“I’m – huh – I’m not going to hurt you Peter. I can’t imagine what’s going through your head right now, but just try to stay calm okay? We’ll be home soon and once we get there, I’ll be able to tell you more.”</p><p>Nodding his head, Peter averted his eyes back out the window. Mark sounded genuine when he said he wouldn’t hurt him, so maybe he did just need some help with chores or something. It might not be too bad with him. He had given him shorts to wear after all.</p><p>They continued driving for another 20 minutes or so before Mark pulled off onto a gravel driveway that seemed endless. When a large building started coming into view in the distance, he dropped his gaze to his knees.</p><p>It looked like Mark was just bringing him to another facility. So that was what he meant when he said he wouldn’t hurt him. Not that he wouldn’t be hurt, but that Mark wouldn’t be doing it himself. Keeping his gaze firmly down he felt the shadows of the building moving across his skin before Mark drove them into an underground parking garage.</p><p>Once the car was stopped Mark hopped out and jogged round to open the passenger door. After guiding Peter out and urging him to turn round, Peter felt the chains around his wrists being undone. Hissing at the pain in his shoulders when he brought his arms round to his front, he almost missed the sound of an elevator opening somewhere behind him.</p><p>But he certainly didn’t miss the voice that followed.</p><p>“<em>Peter?”</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I promise its going to be getting better!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: language, implied/referenced rape</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peters entire body froze. He recognised that voice. But it couldn’t be.</p><p>He heard Mark slowly stepping away as another set of footsteps rushed forward. Stopping just metres behind him.</p><p>“<em>Peter, </em>kid, please say something.”</p><p>The same voice. The one that brought tears to his eyes. Reminded him of warm lab days and late movie nights. The familiar heartbeat.</p><p>Taking a deep breath to steal himself, he slowly turned to face the source of the voice. His legs giving out when he met the warm brown eyes. Knees most likely bruising with the force he landed. His arms reaching out blindly like a child searching for comfort.</p><p>“Mr Stark,” he croaked before falling the rest of the way forward. Being caught by his mentor just in time. The familiar scents of motor oil and coffee flooded his nostrils and he found himself leaning into the man. The minute Tony’s hands started to run through his hair Peter could no longer hold back his sobs.</p><p>He felt himself coming apart as his mentor held him. Gently rocking him back and forwards in the middle of the parking garage.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Tony didn’t know what to think of the plan the team had made.</p><p>He hadn’t thought it was possible for his heart to shatter any more than it already had, but then SHIELD had to inform them that a body had been found with DNA samples that were matched to Peter Parker. The words alone had caused him to spiral into a full-blown panic attack in the middle of the common area. In front of the team, the SHEILD agents and May.</p><p>Once he had calmed down enough, the talk switched to how it was too simple. Too easy to find the DNA and the trail to the ‘murderers’. He had wanted to believe that was true. That it was all some trick. He prayed it was true. But he was scared to get his hopes up again.</p><p>He’d agreed that the best course of action was to go along with it. Make the world believe that Peter Parker had been killed. Announce it in a press conference similar to the one they had done not long after Peter had went missing in the first place. And Tony had barely held it together. He wanted to believe his kid was still alive, but during that conference he couldn’t help but wonder if this was really it.</p><p>Was he dead? What if he never got to hold his kid again?</p><p>But then later that day they called in Fury. For their plan to work they needed SHIELD in on it. The man had agreed to assign undercover agents to all the upcoming auctions. Even if Peter wasn’t there, they still needed to get the other victims out. Of course, the man agreed. He already had a division set up ready to do it. The agents would continue to go in and bid on the victims to get them out quietly and they would apply trackers to any they didn’t manage to ‘buy’ with another team then following them to get them back using whatever force was necessary.</p><p>After that had all been sorted, all there was left to do was wait. That was the worst part. They wouldn’t know if he was even being taken to an auction. Or if he was, if they would have agents there.</p><p>Security at all the auctions had increased after their failed rescue.</p><p>The agents couldn’t risk taking in any form of wires or communication devices. They were going in blind. Having to completely act the part. They would take long winded routes back to the compound where Cho and her team would help the victims and SHIELD agents went about getting in touch with the families.</p><p>Tony had FRIDAY scan every vehicle that entered the garage in the hopes one would contain Peter, but after 5 days there had been nothing.</p><p>He had been up in the common area with the team. All lounging about in silence. There weren’t any new leads for them to follow but they were all drawing on each other for strength. He had been about to tackle his fifth black coffee of the day when FRIDAY broke that silence, “Boss, Peter Parker has just entered the parking garage.”</p><p>His coffee cup had slipped from his hand. Sending coffee and pieces of ceramic flying across the ground, but he couldn’t have cared less.</p><p>Leaping over the mess, he cast his wild eyes around the room to see the rest of the team standing to attention. Looking unsure of what to do next.</p><p>As he ran for the elevator, he paused quickly to face the team, “Someone get May and meet us in the medbay.”</p><p>At the nods that echoed around the room, he stepped backwards into the elevator and FRIDAY took him down. His heart had been racing in his chest as he urged the elevator to go faster. Despite his wish, he was completely unprepared for seeing his kid when the doors finally peeled open.</p><p>Peter was standing with his back to him across the garage. Even from this distance he could see the boys spine and his ribs jutting out from his skin. He could see a smattering of bruises he didn’t want to think about across his hips from where the ill-fitting shorts had slipped down.</p><p><em>“Peter?” </em>he whispered. At his voice the boy froze but didn’t otherwise move. He could see the muscles standing taught under his skin.</p><p>He quickly met the eyes of Mark, one of the undercover SHIELD agents, before the man silently nodded backing away to give the two of them some privacy.</p><p>Once Tony was passed the original shock at seeing his kid – his alive kid –he ran forward. Coming to a stop just a couple of metres from him. He didn’t know if the kid would be open to physical contact and didn’t want to make it worse. He had seen how some of the kids coming back had been withdrawn. Scared of human contact. A couple of them had had panic attacks when someone got too close. He paused watching the boy, his fingers itching to hold him. To reassure him that he’s safe. To apologise.</p><p>When Peter still didn’t make a move, he stood helpless.</p><p>“<em>Peter, </em>kid, please say something,” he didn’t want to force him to do anything, but God how he wanted to hear his voice.</p><p>Tony froze when he saw Peter turning round. His breath caught as he took in the look of raw hope and fear in the boys eyes. He continued to stand frozen as he watched Peter’s legs give out and he landed on his knees. The minute his hands started to reach out, Tony was moving to fill the gap. A broken ‘Mr Stark’ slipped from the boys lips before he fell forward into his waiting arms.</p><p>The boy was too light. He had never weighed much, but he was all skin and bone now. With one hand resting around the boys back, he raised the other to comb through his curls. He was definitely due a haircut.</p><p>When he felt the boys shoulders shaking with sobs, he continued to hold him and whisper words of encouragement.</p><p>Eventually the boy must have tired himself out and he fell asleep in Tony’s arms. Not wanting to wake him, but knowing they had to get to the medbay, he slowly shifted the boy until he was able to stand with Peter held securely in a bridal carry. He bit back a groan at the movement. He certainly wasn’t as young as he used to be and he hadn’t exactly been taking care of himself recently. If Peter had been in good health, he’s not convinced he could have managed it, but given the boys current weight he could carry him. FRIDAY had the elevator waiting for them and before long he was entering the medbay. Gently placing Peter down onto a bed before stepping back to let the doctors check him over.</p><p>It physically hurt him to step out of the room while the doctors worked, but he knew it was for the best. He slowly made his way along to the waiting room where the rest of the Avengers and May were waiting. The minute he walked in the woman rushed up to him.</p><p>“How is he? How’s our baby?”</p><p>Swallowing, Tony realised he didn’t know how to answer that. “I’m – I’m not sure May. He’s lost a lot of weight, but he was conscious and alert. Shaken up, but I don’t think we will really know until he wakes up again. He tired himself out downstairs.”</p><p>Her eyes seemed fixated on his shoulder and when he glanced down, he realised there was a rather large wet patch on his old Metallica t-shirt made from Peter’s tears. Reaching out to the pull May in for a hug, he whispered into her shoulder, “He’ll be ok. He’s strong and he’s got us.”</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter awoke slowly. He was the most rested he had been in a long time.</p><p>The machines around him sounded eerily similar to the medbay. Squinting his eyes open he confirmed was in fact in the compounds medbay when he was met with the familiar white tiled ceiling. Darting his eyes around the room, he heard his heartrate picking up when he discovered he was alone.</p><p>He fought to think back over what had happened to get here. He’d been at the auction and Mark had bought him. But since Mark brought him here, he guessed Mark must be an agent? Unless Mr Stark just offered him a better price… But then didn’t Mr Stark think he was dead?</p><p>Quickly glancing down, he noted he was dressed in a pair of soft cotton pyjamas. He couldn’t remember the last time he had worn a top. Leaning down to pull the thick blanket up higher, he winced at the tug of an IV in his hand. He hated needles.</p><p>He was toying with the idea of just pulling it out when the door opened causing him to jump. He relaxed fractionally when he saw it was just Mr Stark walking in.</p><p>“Oh, you’re up. Sorry Pete, Cho thought you would be out for a bit longer so thought I’d run and grab a quick coffee,” he raised his steaming cup as he took a seat in the armchair beside his bed. “I wouldn’t take that out either,” he nodded towards the IV, “it’s helping. And besides, Cho will blame me and then she will attempt to kick me out for being a bad influence or some rubbish like that, and honestly kid,” Peter winced at the nickname. Those men had taken the endearment his mentor used and turned it into something bad, “I’m not sure my heart could take that.”</p><p>He felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile while his mentor was talking. He had missed the man so much. And it had been so long since he had been able to just talk to another person. It didn’t stop his palms from sweating when he opened his mouth to speak. A part of his mind whispering that he would be punished for speaking out of turn.</p><p>“Wouldn’t want you getting in trouble, Mr Stark.”</p><p>His mentor gave him a soft smile when he spoke, before reaching forward to hold his hand. “I’m so sorry it took us so long to get you back Underoos. We tried to get you back quicker, I swear, but those bastards just kept burying their tracks and we-“</p><p>“It’s ok Mr Stark. I know you did your best,” he interrupted. “Besides its not like I helped much anyway. I wasn’t strong enough.” His voice cracked on the last bit as his free hand wiped at his eyes before the tears had a chance to spill. He didn’t know how he could still have any tears to spill. All he did recently was cry.</p><p>“No, no, no. Hey. This wasn’t your fault, kid.”</p><p>“C-can you please not call me that?” he whispered, hating the tremble in his voice. “Th-They called me that, and I just… can you not? Please?”</p><p>Mr Stark gave him a startled look before quickly nodding. “Of course, Pete. Sorry. And I’m so proud of you for asking me that. If there is ever anything you need, you only have to ask. What I was going to say was that there wasn’t anything more you could have done than just holding on like you did.”</p><p>His mentor had moved to sit on the edge of the bed, one hand still holding Peters and the other moving to run through his hair. It made him feel safe for the first time since he had been taken. He gently squeezed his mentors hand, breathing easier when the older man returned the pressure.</p><p>“I – I was so scared Mr Stark. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it. Not after I’d been so close to getting out. Then they – then they made me watch the press conference and you all thought I was… dead, so I just I thought I was going to die with them. Then I thought I’d end up dying with Mark. I didn’t realise he was a good guy. He is a good guy, right? You didn’t b-buy me?”</p><p>“Yeah, Pete. Mark’s an agent. There’s a huge team of them going undercover in those auctions across the country getting the victims out without alerting the big bosses. Sorry about the press conference. God, I never thought about the fact you might see it. We just knew our best chances of getting you back was to let them think that their plan had worked. It broke me, Underoos. It really did. I just kept thinking what if it was true? What if they had … k-killed you and I would never know for sure. I can’t – you can’t do that to me. Ever. You can’t die.”</p><p>He placed his free hand onto the mans shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m right here Mr Stark. I promise I will try my utmost not to die anytime soon.”</p><p>The man released a heavy sigh before nodding. “You better not.”</p><p>The two fell into a comfortable silence, just sitting with each other. But Peter couldn’t help his curiosity. He had expected to see his aunt when he woke up.</p><p>“Em, Mr Stark?” at the mans nod he continued, “Is my, erm, is May here? I just thought that I might have seen her…” he trailed off, feeling ridiculous for asking such a childish question.</p><p>“Yes, of course. Sorry. She went to grab a quick shower and change earlier. She had been sitting here for almost 24 hours and she had come here straight from work so needed to freshen up a bit. FRI? Make sure May has been notified that Pete’s up and asking for her, alright?”</p><p>“Of course, Boss. Ms Parker is currently getting dressed and has asked me relay that she will be with you both as soon as she is decent.”</p><p>That caused both of them to chuckle quietly.</p><p>In the silence that followed, Peter drew his attention to the blanket. Picking at a loose thread absentmindedly. “Thanks Mr Stark,” he ventured quietly. “I never would have gotten out without you. So, thank you. For everything.”</p><p>He glanced up in time to see his mentors watery smile before he was being pulled forward into a hug. “You don’t need to thank me. I’ll always come for you. We’re family.”</p><p>The sound of hurried footsteps entering the room caused them both to glance towards the door. He sighed a breath of relief when he watched his aunt rush to his bedside. Sitting down on the opposite side to Tony. Her hair hanging wet down her shoulders, leaving marks on her top.</p><p>“<em>May,</em>” he breathed, his eyes already filling with tears again. He was so fed up with crying.</p><p>She gave him an equally watery smile, before gently leaning forward. “Got room for one more in your cuddle pile?” He nodded his head almost urgently, as he unwrapped one of his arms from around Mr Stark to wrap around his aunt. Turning to breath in her strawberry scented shampoo.</p><p>“I missed you guys so much,” he sobbed into their shoulders. “I didn’t think I was going to see you again.”</p><p>“I know baby. We missed you too. So much. But you’re here now, and we love you. I love you so much baby,” his aunt cried into his hair. He didn’t trust himself to speak anymore so he just held the two of them tighter. Feeling safe and content for the first time in a long time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>See? It does get better!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please bare in mind, I'm still new to writing recovery. But here it goes! </p><p>Peter's home and safe! </p><p>TW: language, referenced past rape</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He’s not sure how long the three of them sat wrapped up in their little cuddle pile. Long enough for their tears to dry up, but no one wanted to break the quiet peace that had descended over them. Eventually the rumblings of Peter’s stomach brought it to an end. He felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as he shifted to curl his arms around his torso. Trying his best to ignore the hunger pains accompanying the noises.</p><p>Before he had been taken, he knows he wouldn’t have thought twice about asking them for food. To be honest, he probably would have been asking FRIDAY to send some food round the minute he had woken. But now a traitorous voice at the back of his mind questioned if they would want him to <em>earn </em>it. He knew it was ridiculous. This was his family. They would never hurt him. But only yesterday Gary had held him down while he –</p><p>He cut off the thought when he felt his chest growing tight. Blinking his eyes into focus, he noticed a silent conversation going on between the two adults above him. He thought he should feel annoyed at being kept out of the loop, but honestly, he wasn’t convinced he would be able to keep up with a conversation at the moment. Instead, he let his eyes slip closed as he got his breathing back under control.</p><p>Once he found himself sufficiently calm, he blinked his eyes open to see both Tony and May smiling down at him. Sending them a shaky smile in response, he winced when his stomach rumbled again. May shared a knowing look with his mentor before patting his shoulder and standing up.</p><p>“I’m going to go grab us all some food Peter. I won’t take too long,” she sent a smile over her shoulder before she left the room, letting the door close with a soft click behind her.</p><p>Peters gaze was drawn to the man sitting by his side, as he shifted uncomfortably. He had never seen the man look lost for words before, but that was surely what was happening now. He felt his brow furrow in confusion and concern as he watched his mentor. Eventually, Tony shifted so that their eyes met and he let out a slow breath.</p><p>“Hey Pete, so, uh, there was actually something we need to ask you about. If you don’t feel up to talking right now then that’s fine, but you are going to have to talk to someone at some point, okay?”</p><p>“Y-yeah, that’s fine Mr Stark. Um, what – what did you wanna talk about?”</p><p>“Well, when I brought you down here earlier Cho and the team did a few tests just to make sure there were no life-threatening injuries and to remove that band from around your arm, from what they could see you are <em>physically </em>ok. I mean you are obviously malnourished from lack of food and the lack of exercise won’t have helped, but with an IV drip and by following a specially designed diet for the next couple of weeks you will be back to your normal weight again in no time. But we’re not sure about mentally yet. Obviously, Sam is happy to continue your therapy sessions, probably making them more regular at least for a little while. Maybe every other day or so until you’re feeling a bit more settled. Unless you want us to look into getting you someone else to talk to? I’ve already vetted some more specialised therapists if you’d prefer? I’d understand if you don’t wanna talk to one us, we let you down bud. You shouldn’t have –“</p><p>“It’s fine Mr Stark. I don’t mind talking to Sam. I like him and means I don’t need to worry about by identity getting out… or at least any more than it already has…” he faded off as he thought about the press conference and the number of people who had seen him at the auction. Surely people had started connecting the dots? What if that meant that everyone he loved was already in danger? Taking a deep breath to keep his rising panic at bay, he redirected his attention to Tony. “Anyway, Sam’s fine and more regularly is probably a good idea... Even if I don’t wanna talk…But that didn’t seem like the question you wanted to ask,” he hugged his knees up to his chest as he absentmindedly picked at a piece of loose skin on his thumb, “what do you wanna know?”</p><p>He could read the pain and fear in his mentors eyes before the older man quickly averted his gaze. “Mark – the SHIELD agent who got you out – gave his official report of the event while you were out. Including details like the state when he found you and any descriptions used by the- by the <em>bastards</em> that had you. He, uh, he mentioned that they had… that you were…” the man dragged a tired hand over his face searching for words. Peter felt his stomach plummet as he guessed at what the man was trying to say, “that they had raped you,” he eventually whispered. He sat frozen as he watched a tear slide down Tony’s cheek before it got caught in his beard. His mentor quickly cleared his throat before continuing on a bit stronger. Hand reaching out to grip Peters, “I just wanted to apologise for not getting you out sooner. We added in an STD check with the other tests we ran earlier when you arrived. Results should be back soon. But are you ok? Sam should be about tomorrow to start therapy, but you know you can always talk to me and your aunt. Can we do anything to help? Anything we should avoid? I don’t want to make this harder on you k- Peter.”</p><p>Swallowing around the dryness in his mouth, Peter leant forward to bury his head in his knees. “I’m sorry Mr Stark. I know – I know I should have fought harder, but I just wasn’t strong enough. I tried to resist but I couldn’t. Between the drugs and the lack of food – not that its an excuse – but I just couldn’t stop him. He said – he said that if I wanted to eat then I was going to have to e-earn it, and I just. I was <em>so</em> hungry. I hadn’t eaten since the day before the first auction – the one you were at – and I had used up so much energy during that and then afterwards in the car when I tried to jump out on the freeway, and it had been days and I didn’t think I would make it any longer without it. I just – I’m sorry. I’m so sor-“</p><p>“Don’t apologise Pete,” Tony leant forward to wrap his arms around Peters huddled form. It didn’t look to be a very comfortable position for the older man, what with his knees digging into the mans chest but he was happily soaking up the comfort it offered. “You have nothing to be sorry for. <em>I’m </em>the one that’s sorry for not getting you out fast enough. You did everything you could. And you did what you had to in order to survive. And I am so, so proud of you for doing that. We just want to make sure that now your safe we do everything we can to make sure you are able to recover. So whatever you need, just say the words ok?”</p><p>Blinking back tears, Peter dared to glance up towards Tony’s face and was met with a look of pure protective love. He let the corner of his mouth twitch into a small smile before he nodded. “Okay. That sounds – that sounds good. But I don’t want – I don’t want to talk about it right now, if that’s ok? Maybe later, but I kinda wanna try to forget for a bit? And I’m ok with you and May. I know that you won’t hurt me. Just maybe don’t sneak up on me? Or you know bind my hands or anything.”</p><p>His mentor gave him a proud smile, before leaning forward to ruffle his hair causing Peter to playfully bat his hand away.</p><p>“That’s fine. I will <em>never</em> do anything to hurt you. And I’ll be here for you to talk to whenever you are ready. I love you Pete.”</p><p>“Love you too, Tony.”</p><p>“Huh, so you <em>do</em> know my name!”</p><p>“I have no clue what you mean Mr Stark,” he replied cheekily.</p><p>Rolling his eyes, the two fell back into a familiar banter. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed the small moments like these. Just enjoying the care-free company of his mentor. Not having to worry about hidden agendas or being punished if he messed up.</p><p>It couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes before May was back carrying three haphazardly stacked plates filled with what looked to be chicken and rice. She carefully placed them down on a table at the side of the room, before wheeling the tray over so that Peter could use it from his bed. He sent a thankful grin to his aunt as she pushed a plate towards Mr Stark before taking her own plate onto her lap and leaning back in the armchair opposite his mentors. He glanced at his fork for a moment before hesitantly reaching forward to grab it. May had already started eating but Mr Stark hadn’t even made a move towards his own.</p><p>“C’mon kid, it’ll go cold if you don’t eat it soon,” his mentor tried to encourage him.</p><p>Twirling the fork around his fingers, he glanced at his mentor. “I’ll start eating when you start eating Mr Stark.”</p><p>“What? That sounds like blackmail,” shooting a mock indignant look at May, he continued sounding exasperated, “Do you hear what I have to put up with?”</p><p>Without looking up from her plate, his aunt snorted, “You know what an easy solution would be Tony? To just eat.”</p><p>Smirking at his mentor, he raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the mans fork before he reluctantly picked it up. “I don’t get why I need to be eating as well,” the man grumbled.</p><p>“Mr Stark, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you look like shit. You’ve lost as much weight as I have,” his lips twitched when his aunt chuckled along with his words, “so if I need to follow some stupid approved diet to get it all back again then I’ll follow all the silly rules as long as you follow them with me.”</p><p>A bunch of emotions flashed across Tony’s face, too quickly for him to identify after so long without proper human interaction, but he definitely recognised the loving look it settled on. Heaving an exaggerated sigh, the man shovelled a forkful of rice into his mouth, “You drive a hard bargain Pete.”</p><p>With a grin he finally allowed himself to start his own dinner.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter had followed the doctors advice and stuck to the recommended feeding schedule and bedrest for the past 2 days. He’d spent his time so far just sleeping or chatting with May and Tony. But he was getting restless. He was fed up with only being allowed out of the bed when he was going to the bathroom. Thankfully, Dr Cho had been round earlier and finally removed the IV drip after agreeing that everything was already looking better.</p><p>They had let him know that the other Avengers were all itching to see him but given he was still jumpy around others they wanted to give him space till he was feeling a bit better. He was thankful that they were so understanding. He’d been overly emotional the last couple of days and didn’t want to embarrass himself any further in front of the heroes.</p><p>He had spilled the details of what had happened to him to May and Tony. The adults took turns holding him while he cried. Sam had been round to start his therapy and he had been somewhat relieved when it started simple and not going too deep. He knew he would need to start delving into the grittier details eventually but just starting with some lighter topics of his ordeal was nice.</p><p>This afternoon, however, he was looking forward to a full team reunion. Since he was no longer attached to the IV, he was free to leave the medbay. As long as he stuck to his diet elsewhere in the compound, Cho was happy for him to wander around freely – even letting him stay in his own rooms. In fact, she encouraged him to go for slow, short walks to start building his strength again. He wasn’t going to look that gift-horse in the mouth.</p><p>May had brought him in a pair of sweatpants as well as the MIT hoodie that Mr Stark had lent him ages ago and had just never asked for back. He glanced at his reflection warily in the mirror. He was still skinnier than he had been before all this, but he could see his body starting to recover. With the right nutrition and rest, his bruises had all healed and his skin was back to looking a healthier colour. It would take a bit of time to rebuild all his lost muscle, but Mr Stark had already promised to get him set up with some physical therapy to help the process along.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, he exited the bathroom and went to find Tony who was waiting for him in the hallway. May had went round to the common area earlier to “go find out how Happy was doing”. Something he was decidedly trying not to think about.</p><p>His mentor grinned as he caught sight of Peter and quickly stepped forward to throw an arm around the younger boys shoulders. Following Dr Cho’s orders the two of them wandered slowly round to the common area. He could feel his legs struggling as they finally made it to the room. The past couple of corridors having him slowly leaning more and more of weight against his mentor. As soon as they reached the room, he felt his heartrate pick up at being in such a crowded room. He unconsciously pressed further into his mentor, trusting the man to protect him from any harm. Thankfully the team didn’t rush towards him. They sent him smiles and called out hello’s, but otherwise they didn’t move. It made it slightly less awkward when he all-but collapsed into one of the empty couches by the window. Sending a pleading look up to his mentor when he had turned away before the man joined him, wrapping his arm protectively around the boy again.</p><p>From his position he could see everyone in the room. May and Happy were across the room from him sharing a loveseat. Which – ew! They seemed to be caught up in some private conversation which involved a lot of looking into each other’s eyes and holding hands. He didn’t grudge May her happiness, especially after she had been stuck in the medbay with Peter constantly the last couple of days, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see that. Quickly averting his gaze, he noted Natasha lounging with her legs hung over the edge of an armchair with her nose stuck in a book. His lips twitched into a rueful smile at the resemblance she bore to MJ. Their mannerisms were scarily similar in some respects. Rhodey, Sam and Pepper where seated on one of the larger couches facing the tv where an episode of FRIENDs was playing quietly. Clint and Wanda also appeared to be watching from their positions sprawled in the centre of the floor. Vision was nowhere to be seen, but then he seemed to just come and go as he pleased. Steve was perched on a stool, near the end of the couch he was sitting on with Mr Stark, with a sketchbook on his lap, apparently drawing something outside of the window.</p><p>Furrowing his brow, he re-scanned the room searching for Bucky. Eventually finding the man sitting on the ground in the corner of the room, as far from Peter as possible, with his head hanging low. Everything about the man screamed that something was wrong.</p><p>“Mr Stark?” he spoke lowly, not wanting to interrupt the quiet that was encapsulating the room. “Is Bucky ok?”</p><p>He watched as mentor followed his gaze, and let out a quiet sigh, “He’s, well, we all took your being taken personally. But after our failed rescue attempt Bucky took it a bit more to heart. He blames himself for everything that happened afterwards. Because he was the one who was tasked with getting you out to the quinjet.”</p><p>“But that’s rubbish! It’s not his fault, or anyone’s fault but the actual men who hurt me!”</p><p>His mentor shot him a gentle smile, “Yeah, but guilt doesn’t always listen to reason, bud.”</p><p>He stopped to consider his mentors words. He knew that. He had personally experienced that in the past. Feeling that if anyone got hurt in Queens it was because he hadn’t been good enough. That it was Spider-Man’s job to prevent bad things from happening. If anything bad happened then it was his fault. But just because he felt like that, it didn’t make it true. And sometimes all he needed was for someone to tell him they understood but that there wasn’t anything he could have done for him to finally be able to relax.</p><p>Sucking in a deep breath, he hauled himself to his feet and shuffled over towards Bucky. His legs shaking with overexertion every step after his walk from the medbay. It didn’t help that he could feel the whole room side-eying him as he moved, but he tried to ignore them. Once he finally reached Bucky’s corner, he leant back against the wall and allowed himself to slide down next to the supersoldier.</p><p>“Hey Bucky,” he spoke quietly.</p><p>The man eyed him carefully before muttering a quiet “Hey” back.</p><p>“I never got to thank you before. So, I just wanted to say thanks for trying to get me out of there.”</p><p>“You shouldn’t <em>thank </em>me Pete. I let those scumbags get you.”</p><p>“No, you didn’t. I’m the one that froze. You told me to run. To get out, and I just… I was too slow.” He gave a small shrug, “I wasn’t fast enough. And then when I woke up in the car, I tried to escape again. I was inches from being able to leap out the car but again I wasn’t fast enough. It was my fault,” breathing fast as he blinked past the tears in his eyes.</p><p>“Hey, no, no. It wasn’t your fault. You did everything you could. We couldn’t have asked anymore from you. You did your best. Those guys – those guys were just pros. They were trained by HYDRA. You couldn’t have outsmarted them.”</p><p>Peter glanced up to meet Bucky’s eyes, as the man placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it in hopes of providing comfort. Peter shakily returned the gesture. Suddenly feeling tiny when he realised his own hand barely managed to wrap around the mans impressive shoulder muscles.</p><p>“You mean just like you did? When you took a bullet for me? And then when you were injured and bleeding, you still managed to carry me all the way to the door? Only stopping when you had no other options and even then, when you were being electrocuted you still fought to protect me. You did everything in your power to keep me safe! If its not my fault, then it certainly isn’t your fault either.”</p><p>He paused for breath, carefully eying the man to watch his words sink in. He wasn’t sure what reaction he had been expecting but it certainly wasn’t for the man to laugh and pull him in for a hug. Hesitantly wrapping his own arms around the man, he smiled when Bucky spoke softly into his hair.</p><p>“I should have known you’d be a wee punk. I’m so glad your back.”</p><p>“Me too,” he murmured. “So, are you going to stop sulking over here or you still going to let the weight of the world rest on your shoulders?”</p><p>Sighing, Bucky pulled away from him. “I suppose I should stop sulking,” he turned round to face Peter once he was standing above the boy, “You gonna join me?”</p><p>“Erm, I might need a hand up?” he gestured towards his legs. “I currently feel like I’ve run a marathon and not sure I can stand…”</p><p>A mischievous glint filled the supersoldiers eyes before he gently picked up Peter before flinging him over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift.</p><p>“Hey!” Peter shouted indignantly playfully swatting at the mans back.</p><p>“You said you wanted a hand!” Bucky replied sounded exasperated.</p><p>“Yeah, like to stand or something. You don’t need to carry me over,” he weakly kicked his legs as the man approached the window. Glancing around the room, he could see the smiles and hear the soft chuckles coming from the others.</p><p>“Poor Pete. Put my kid down Buck,” his mentor chuckled. With an ‘oof’ he was quickly deposited onto Mr Starks lap. His face bright red from his upside-down journey across the room. He sent a mock scowl at Bucky as the man went to join Clint and Wanda on the floor.</p><p>Shifting to sit beside his mentor, rather than on top of him, he leant to rest his head on the mans shoulder. Allowing his eyes to slip closed on their own accord.</p><p>“Get some rest Pete, there’s still a while before dinner.”</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here we go, its the final chapter!</p><p>Thank you to everyone who has read this far and I hope the ending doesn't disappoint! It was a rough ride, but Peter is finally home.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, after his first night out of the medbay, he finally built up the courage to ask about Ned and MJ. He had been thinking about it since yesterday when the familiar teasing amongst the team reminded him of his best friends, but he hadn’t wanted to interrupt the jovial mood that had fallen within the group.</p><p>They’d had a quiet evening watching movies, before May and Happy had left to head into the city, wanting to check on the apartment. He had still been trying to get his head around the fact that they were both staying at his apartment, when Mr Stark had gently encouraged him to head to bed and get some rest.</p><p>Now, however.</p><p>Now he was wide awake and freshly rested. Just out of an amazingly warm, long shower under one of the many spa head showers in the compound and was now dressed in a pair of sweats and an old hoodie, he was going to grab breakfast and then go find his phone. Or try to at least. Last time he had seen it was when he handed his bag to Ned for safe keeping.</p><p>Sauntering into the shared kitchen he was immediately met with the smell of fresh pancakes and bacon. Grinning as he sat down at the breakfast bar, he greeted Steve from where he was standing cooking. The two engaged in friendly chit-chat before more of the team started filtering in. Drawn by the scents of the food wafting around the compound.</p><p>Glancing around, Peter noticed that all of the team except Mr Stark had arrived when Steve started plating up the food. He furrowed his brows when he glanced at his plate.</p><p>“Does anyone know where Mr Stark is?”</p><p>“He’ll probably be about later,” Natasha explained. “He has a habit of missing meals, especially recently.”</p><p>Peter sighed. That was exactly what he was worried about. Did the man think that just because he was no longer in the medbay that his deal about looking after himself was off?</p><p>“FRIDAY?” he addressed the man AI.</p><p>“Yes, Peter?”</p><p>“Where’s Mr Stark?”</p><p>“Boss is currently in the lab. He has been since you went to bed last night.”</p><p>Rolling his eyes, he leant back in his chair. “Could you tell him its breakfast time please?”</p><p>A short pause followed, during which he assumed she was passing on the message. Rhodey shifted in his seat to face Peter. “Honestly Peter, the man has been refusing to eat point blanc since everything happened. Pep and I couldn’t even convince him to eat most days. Don’t take it -”</p><p>“Boss seems to believe that his coffee is breakfast enough for himself. He does not wish you to wait on him.”</p><p>The others all started eating their breakfast, but Peter felt his stubbornness setting in.</p><p>“Fine. FRIDAY can you let him know that in that case, I’m going to have a coffee as well. I also won’t be eating till he gets his ass out of the lab and up here to eat some actual food.”</p><p>He gently pushed his plate away from him and wandered over to the coffee machine. He didn’t even like coffee, but he knew fine well that unless his mentor thought he was going to follow through he wouldn’t show up. He sniffed at the bitter liquid and fought a gag.</p><p>“Peter,” Steve chided from his seat. “You’re really gonna drink that and not eat anything?”</p><p>“I told Mr Stark that I’d follow the rules and work to put the weight back on if he did the same thing since he clearly wasn’t looking after himself while I was… gone… but if he’s going to back out then so will I. We can see who wins.” He took a quick sip of the coffee and grimaced at the taste, causing a couple of chuckles around the room.</p><p>Rhodey groaned, “Ugh, it’s like there’s two of them. Of course, you would get his stubborn streak.”</p><p>“I don’t know how he can drink this stuff,” Peter eyed his cup distastefully. “He couldn’t be addicted to strawberry milkshakes or something instead?”</p><p>The elevator dinging caught his attention and he turned to watch his haggard mentor shuffle in. It was clear that the man hadn’t been to sleep and instead had been working all night. If the slight tremor in his hands was anything to go by, he was also probably running on caffeine. Ignoring the room at large, he walked straight towards Peter removing the coffee from his hands. “You should be eating young man. Not drinking my coffee.”</p><p>Raising an eyebrow in question, he snorted. “You should be eating old man. Not drinking that disgusting stuff,” he mimicked the man. Ducking out of the way of his mentors hand.</p><p>Smiling innocently as he approached the cooker, he plated up some of the leftovers and took it over to the empty seat beside his one. After setting it down he turned to the man still standing by the coffee pot. “You want something to eat Mr Stark?”</p><p>He smirked as the man grumbled under his breath but sat down anyway. Glaring at Peter he spoke louder, “You are a devil child,” before he forcefully stabbed at a pancake with a fork and shoved a bite into his mouth.</p><p>Grinning openly, Peter pulled his own plate forward and started to tuck in. Choosing to ignore the looks of disbelief being shot their way by everyone else around the table.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>After breakfast, Peter had remained at the table with his mentor while the others got up and on with the rest of their days. He gently knocked their shoulders together to get the mans attention.</p><p>“Mr Stark?”</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“Do you know where my phone is? I was thinking that I should probably get in touch with Ned and, erm, with MJ…”</p><p>The man reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the device in question, “Here you go. I was wondering how long it would take you to ask about it. May suggested if you didn’t ask today, we’d just hand it over tomorrow but wanted to give you time.”</p><p>“Oh, eh, thanks!”</p><p>Turning his phone on, he was surprised to notice it was fully charged. Shooting his mentor a confused look, the man looked bashful.</p><p>“I just wanted to make sure it was ready for you to use when you were ready. Ned has been messaging constantly since we let him know you were back. There were even a couple of messages from the scary girl. You might want to get in touch with them soon before they walk here from the city.”</p><p>“Do you, do you know if anyone told Ned or MJ what was happening early on?”</p><p>His mentor nodded solemnly. “May called Ned after Pepper and Happy told her and then he did his usual ramble thing and revealed that you had apparently organised a date the following day with MJ – which not going to lie hurt a little when I discovered I was one of the only ones that didn’t know you were going to ask her out? but hey that’s in the past – so he was going to have to get in touch with her and let her know that you couldn’t make it. We are still unsure if scary girl actually knows your Spider-Man but I have a feeling she does since she didn’t even bat an eyelid when she was invited here while the manhunt was underway. Honestly think she could easily follow in Nat’s footsteps. You certainly know how to pick them.”</p><p>Chuckling, Peter pulled up his conversation with Ned and quickly scrolled through the hundreds of unread messages. He noticed he had quite a few unread messages from MJ as well. The group chat between the three of them had also been active. Mainly light-hearted stuff between his two friends apparently trying to pretend things were still normal.</p><p>Noticing that they were both online, he quickly excused himself from the table to start a group call as he walked to his room.</p><p>Ned picked up within two rings, with MJ joining a couple seconds later. Everyone silent as they just grinned at each other through the screens. As Peter shut his door, he raised his hand to wave at his best friends.</p><p>“Hey guys.”</p><p>“PETER! Oh my God. I can’t believe its you! Are you ok? What happened?”</p><p>“Ned calm down. Let him answer first. You ok Loser?”</p><p>Peter paused to think for a second, but eventually nodded. “Yeah, I’m ok. It’s a long story, that I don’t really wanna get into right now, but I’m back and I’m safe. So, I’m good.”</p><p>“That’s all we can ask for,” MJ smiled at him. Like she actually smiled. He felt the familiar butterflies starting in his stomach at her action.</p><p>Feeling a blush rise in his cheek, he couldn’t help but apologise, “Listen MJ, I’m so sorry I missed our date. That was really shitty timing. Would you maybe wanna reschedule at some point? Maybe not right away, but like soon?” He worried at his bottom lip as he waited for her answer, but he should have known better than to doubt it.</p><p>“Of course, I want to Peter! Just don’t rush yourself. Make sure you take time for you first!”</p><p>He nodded quickly, unable to wipe the grin of his face as he stared at MJs own gentle smile.</p><p>“Okaaaay. Do you guys have to be all gross on main? I mean some of us have just eaten….”</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>By the time dinner was approaching, Peter was exhausted.</p><p>He had chatted with his best friends for just over an hour before he had hung up in order to go to his therapy session with Sam. They had started delving into the deeper matters. Mainly focussing on everything that Gary had done. Unsurprisingly, it had ended with him in tears, but it hadn’t been as bad as he had worried it might be. The man was sympathetic and understanding all the way throughout the session. He had admitted that he still struggled being in rooms one of one with people. That a small voice in the back of his mind told him he had to be on guard in case they tried something. But that he hated to be alone even more. It reminded him too much of all the time he spent in isolation while he was kept. After they had finished for the day, the two had made their way to the kitchen where a feast had been set out for lunch. Everyone happily digging in and enjoying themselves.</p><p>After everyone had stuffed themselves, the team chose to lounge about in the common area to have yet another impromptu movie marathon. Only stopping the movies shortly for a quick bathroom break and to order some pizzas. Peters eyelids kept growing heavy and he was looking forward to finishing his dinner so he could go to sleep.</p><p>Dr Cho had been around earlier to see how he was getting on outside of the medbay and seemed hopeful that by next week he would be allowed back into the gym to start properly building up his lost muscle again since his weight had been steadily increasing.</p><p>His eyes slipped from the tv to the large floor to ceiling windows. He was taking in the grounds, admiring the greenery. He could see SHIELD agents outside training, going about their usual days.</p><p>They still had some time before the pizzas would arrive, so he didn’t see any harm in letting his eyes slip shut for a little while. May would wake him up when the food arrived anyway.</p><p> </p><p>xXxXxXx</p><p> </p><p>Peter had been back at the compound for almost a month now. He had been starting to catch up with his missed schooling online but hadn’t been back in person yet. Partly because it was such a drive from the Compound upstate to Midtown and partly because the whole school knew he had been kidnapped and he wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with that. May had been splitting her time between the apartment when she was working and then joining him at the Compound when she had time off. Happy being more than willing to drive her back and forth. He’d also noticed that the head of security kept timing his days off to follow on from the days he would drive May back into the city, so that he could stay with her. When he had brought it up to Mr Stark, he had merely chuckled and ruffled his hair, saying he’d explain it when he was older.</p><p>A week after he had returned, he had been allowed back into the gym and since then he had slowly built back enough strength that the team were willing to include him in a training drill. They hadn’t done one as a team since before he had been taken. Mr Stark had continued to keep his promise to eat regularly at the same time as Peter. The man didn’t always eat the same amount as Peter did, especially since his enhanced metabolism had kicked back in, but he was eating enough to keep himself healthy.</p><p>He had been having 3 therapy sessions a week with Sam which were really helping. It was allowing him to process everything that had happened and accept that it hadn’t been his fault. He had done what was necessary to survive. He was getting better at being around new people again as well. He had even made a point of eating his lunch in the SHIELD cafeteria during the week, which was a huge accomplishment. Tony had accompanied him, but still, he had started worrying he would never be able to do it.</p><p>Ned and MJ had come up to visit him the weekend after he had first called them, and they had continued to come up every weekend since. He’d given them both a tour of the Compound when they first arrived before they had locked themselves in his room, sat in front of the tv playing games for hours on end before relocating to the common area where they ate pizza with the rest of the Avengers. It had felt great to be able to spend time as just a kid again. He had worried that they would treat him differently, but neither of them had. It was just like it had been before. Just maybe with some more blushing looks at MJ.</p><p>MJ had confirmed that she did in fact, know that Peter was Spider-Man. She had known since the decathlon final in DC but had just been waiting to see if Peter would say anything himself. He hadn’t been sure what to think about that, but after talking it over later in the lab with Mr Stark he had decided that he didn’t mind. He had been going to tell her anyway, so at least that was something he didn’t have to worry about. And as he had told Ned in the past, he trusted her.</p><p>After taking the time to focus on himself for a while, they had also re-organised their first date. She was going to be coming over Friday night. It would just be the two of them and he was equal parts excited and terrified. He had no clue what to do on a date, but they had agreed to keeping it simple with dinner and a movie. Mr Stark and May had both promised to give him tips beforehand, promising to help him with what to wear and anything he should avoid. He had also asked for Natasha’s input as well. He figured if it was something Natasha would want to do then it would definitely be something MJ would like.</p><p>Before his date on Friday though, he had the Avengers training drill to take part in.</p><p>He nervously ran his hands through his hair as he stepped out onto the grass lawn. They were planning on using the Compounds grounds to run the drills. Splitting the team in two for a massive game of ‘capture the flag’. It was the first time he had had his suit on since he had been taken. He had been worried that it would bring back flashbacks of what happened or just feel wrong. But slipping into the material had felt like coming home. Rolling his shoulders, he surveyed the area, wandering towards Mr Stark, Clint and Sam who were all on his team.</p><p>“You ready for this Underoos?” his mentor questioned. The man was standing in his under-armour tracksuit. He had the nanocasing unit for his suit attached to his chest, so Peter assumed he was just double checking before he suited up.</p><p>Licking lips, he found himself grinning at his team. “Yeah, let’s do this.”</p><p>Slipping his own mask over his face, he found himself chuckling when Karen greeted him. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed her voice until he heard it again.</p><p>FRIDAY projected a hunger games style counter into the sky, announcing that the game would begin in 30 seconds and to get ready. Tony suited up, while Clint loaded his bow and Sam got his wingsuit warmed up.</p><p>Once the countdown hit zero, a dramatic cannonball sound effect echoed throughout the grounds signalling the start. He grinned at his mentor beneath the mask as he quipped, “You don’t think that’s a bit dramatic?”</p><p>“Spider-Man, I have no clue what you mean. I’m the most understated man alive,” with a quick salute the Iron Man suit took off into the sky, in search of the opposing teams flag.</p><p>Peter let out a quick chuckle before he ran towards the tall trees. Shooting out a web and whooping as he began to sail through the air.</p><p>He still wasn’t back to 100% but man, it was good to be back.</p>
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